My Heart Forever Lies in London
by ElaineAbbene
Summary: Everyone's lives are working out except Victorie's.A bridesmaid in 6 weddings in 6 months and her secret love, Teddy Lupin, is off working for the Department of International Intelligence in Egypt. What Vic doesn't know is-his heart forever lies with her.
1. Today's the Big Day

**This is the sequel to my first story, Marauders Class of 2018, but it is not entirely necessary to read my other story first. However, it explains a lot and is quite a good read. Anyways, This story follows Teddy and Victoire and their friends who have just graduated Hogwarts three weeks ago and continues their story. After all, the end of Marauders Class of 2018 was the Begining of this! Please Review and if you're confused go read Marauders Class of 2018 and review that! Thanks!**

**2 Things you should know if you didn't read marauders: Teddy and James are the same age. Vic and Teddy didn't get together in school. **

"VICTOIRE WEASLEY!" came a loud voice from the other side of the door. Victoire groaned and rolled over in bed, pulling a pillow over her head in an attempt to drown out Elaine's voice. "GET UP RIGHT NOW! WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN A HALF HOUR!" Victoire moaned, curling into a ball and deciding she would simply wait until Elaine stopped bugging her and then fall back asleep. "I KNOW YOU DON'T NEED BEAUTY SLEEP! GET UP AND OUT HERE RIGHT NOW OR I'LL BLAST DOWN THIS DOOR!" Victoire shot out of her warm bed, her long blond hair in a tangle and her eyes still sleepy. Elaine would actually do it.

"I'm up! I'm up!" she exclaimed grabbing her uniform, opening the door, and sprinting to the bathroom. She was pretty sure Elaine had rolled her eyes as she had passed her.

Ten minutes later, a freshly showered and neatly dressed Victoire arrived in the sunny kitchen of the flat that she shared with her best friend Elaine Dridel. Elaine was a morning person, much to Victoire's annoyance. Victoire's hair was in waves but Elaine had neatly charmed every lock of her hair into perfect loose and bouncy ringlets, and her St. Mungo's robes were neat as she made breakfast.

"I made you coffee, right here," said Elaine gesturing to a pot of black liquid on the stove next to the purple kettle which held Elaine's tea for the morning. Elaine set the table with a flick of her wand, and the pancakes and bacon she had been cooking filled the plates. Victoire smiled and sat down. Sometimes she didn't know what she would do without Elaine to wake her up in the mornings. It had been like this at school too. School seemed forever ago, while in reality they had graduated a little less than a month ago with only a few days of rest before starting their healer training at St. Mungo's with their other best friend ShiShi Yang. Suddenly a pop startled Victoire as ShiShi, speak of the devil and she shall appear, apparated into the bright kitchen.

"Merlin-damned Floo network is down today! We have to apparate and walk to work! We're going to be bloody late, so I thought I would tell you two. With Toire here, you were sure to be super late and that would make Nelson super pissed and we don't want that now do we?" she exclaimed as she noticed her friends eating breakfast. She grabbed a piece of bacon off Elaine's plate. Elaine didn't even scold her but when she moved to take a piece from Victoire, she decided against it from the look on Toire's face. Toire grabbed the bacon off her plate and shoved as much pancake in her mouth as possible, making her look like a chipmunk with her stuffed cheeks. She was NOT missing breakfast.

Elaine sighed and whipped out her wand, cleaning up the kitchen with a few charms. "In any case, we better get going." Victoire looked longingly at the rest of her delicious breakfast and followed them as they got up and apparated out of the room. She managed to bring her coffee and four strips of bacon to munch on the way.

With three pops, three young women arrived on a muggle street in downtown London. To an outsider, the tallest of the trio stood out immediately at 5'7 with her long wavy blond hair, blue eyes, rosy complexion, and strikingly beautiful features, she looked like a model. The next tallest at perhaps 5'4 was the delicate brunette who had the appearance of one who a slight wind could break from her fragile features, elegantly curled hair, and slight frame. The slender girl was a wisp of a thing but her startlingly purple eyes could stop someone in their tracks. She was the most classically beautiful of the group while the blond was the most enchanting and striking. The third was even shorter than the brunette with jet black, stick straight hair which she had chopped to right below her chin. Her pale skin had a hint of yellow in it, and her dark eyes were slanted almonds in her proud face. Each of the girls were wearing long blue robes that looked strange to any muggles who saw them, but they didn't seem to mind as they conversed on their way into work.

"I hate that we were already ready for work when we found out the network was down. Now the muggles are giving us funny looks!" said Victoire looking across the street to see a nasty looking man leering at her and her two friends as she chomped on a piece of bacon.

"Oh, do stop whining, we will be there in a few minutes," said Elaine. "So let's talk about you ShiShi, we didn't see you _all_ weekend. Where were you? Sarah didn't even know." She raised her eyebrows at the girl questioningly.

"Oh, you know, _around_," answered the Chinese girl mysteriously. "I came back to the flat last night, Sarah and Frank were all over each other. It really is sickening. She should be happy I don't flaunt my love life in front of her instead of complaining about it to you guys. Honestly, I left Saturday night and came back Sunday afternoon. Not even twenty-four hours."

"Yes, I'm so glad she's not sharing a flat with us. Seeing Sarah and Frank snogging for hours on end isn't my idea of appetizing. They are sickeningly in love sometimes," commented Toire. ShiShi nodded her head enthusiastically in agreement.

"Just think Elaine and James, but a bit more annoying," laughed ShiShi as Elaine's face turned bright red.

"We aren't THAT bad! Honestly, I can't believe you're comparing James and I to Frank and Sarah. They are getting bloody married! In SIX weeks!"

"I can't believe they set the date so soon. I mean, they get engaged at graduation and suddenly they are getting married in August! I love em both, and I'm gonna miss em around all the time," said ShiShi referring to how Frank was constantly at the apartment that ShiShi shared with his fiancé. "HA! I'll actually have food in the fridge! Maybe I won't miss it so much."

"You're horrible!" laughed Elaine. "Did Sarah tell you what time we're meeting at Three Broomsticks tonight? Girl's night!" The girls walked into the hospital and were unfazed by the clamor inside as they had been in the Healer Trainee Program there for the past three weeks. They headed to the locker room to get their nametags and to put their things away before heading to the Healer Station where Healer Nelson would be waiting for them with the other trainees.

They weren't the only ones late that morning, and they waited as several others joined them. As healer trainees, they spent their mornings under the watchful eyes of Resident Healers who they followed around and helped perform easy tasks. Then, after lunch, the trainees went to classes and lectures, taking exams and doing school work until dinner when they went home.

Healer Nelson began assigning the trainees to residents and Victoire watched as Elaine went off to the pregnancy and birthing wing while ShiShi went to critical care. She didn't understand how they were always sent to the best wards and barely registered as she was assigned to work in SURPRISE the Magical Bites Ward with Healer Adams for the third time that week. Just because her family history involved a few incidents with biting creatures didn't mean she wanted to spend all her time in the bite ward. Sure Uncle Charlie had a few incidents with dragons, and of course the famous incident with her grandfather and Voldemort's horacrux snake, and there was the snake thing with her uncle Harry and oh, yes, who could forget that while her father wasn't bit by a werewolf, he had been mauled by one. Victoire hated the bite ward and not because Healer Adams was boring or it brought up bad family memories. It was because it reminded her strongly of him, of his father, and him.

* * *

Teddy was always the first one up. James was a close second, and then they had to work to wake up Orion and Murphy. The four friends were living in the heart of Hogsmeade, the Shrieking Shack to be precise. Oddly enough, the deed to the house was in the Lupin name due to the reason it was joined to Hogwarts via secret passage. His friends had decided it was the perfect bachelor pad, and Teddy would agree if it wasn't such a mess to begin with.

Teddy was slowly repairing his room; for instance this weekend he had redone the wallpaper so the torn peeling walls were neat. The somewhat large room was actually quite nice but was just dusty, and dingy. The floors needed a good polish and the windows a good washing. The room was regularly scorgified of dust and the boys were having a great time in the house, but Teddy knew the house needed several other improvements, including fixing the broken rail on the stairs.

Suddenly, James threw open the door where Teddy was brushing his teeth. He was half dressed with his white shirt half buttoned and his black tie hanging around his shoulders untied. "Teddy, just got an owl from Ellie, she told me the floo network was down when she tried to go to work so we better get an early start this morning. Last time it went down it was down for days while that idiot Creevy in Transportation tried to fix it! I'll get Orion, tell Murph."

The boys rushed around the house, barely having enough time to eat the bacon and pancakes that Elaine had owled over in a hot box. Teddy really appreciated that girl. She managed to make extra breakfast every morning and send it over in a special box that kept it warm. She took such good care of James, who Teddy was pretty sure would never be able to survive on his own without his mum, grandmum, sister, or Elaine looking after his well being. All too soon, Orion was being pushed down the stairs by James. Orion's usually neat hair was a mess, his shoes were untied, and James was carrying his tie and robes over one arm while Orion buttoned his shirt.

"HURRY UP!" exclaimed James exasperatedly as he sat down and started eating his Ellie-prepared meal and picked up the paper she had sent with the hot box. She always circled the articles she though James would like to read with purple ink. They were sickeningly in love was Teddy's opinion. Of course, James had been sickeningly in love with Elaine since about fourth year, but it wasn't so one sided anymore.

As soon as Orion was finished getting dressed, he snatched up a few pieces of bacon, and James glared at him. "For the road," he had said with a smirk before turning on the spot and apparating. James and Teddy followed suit, appearing in the muggle alley a few blocks from the ministry. Such an inconvenient apparation point.

"So, today's the big day huh, big guy," said Orion with a sneer at James who blushed.

"She's having girls night tonight at eight. How about marauders night tonight? We could go out together, do some fun marauders stuff, and I know it's a Monday night, but hey, we barely saw each other all weekend and Moony was gone all week last week."

"Yeah, how was the mystery trip?" asked Orion turning to Teddy. Great James, turn him lose on me when he asks you an uncomfortable question.

"Err.. fun. Got my flat in Cairo. It's close to the apparition point, the museum, the ministry office, and some good restaurants. I'll apparate every day to the pyramids, work, go home and then eat in. It'll be a blast. The totally exciting secret life of Ted Remus Lupin."

"No, really Moony, being a spy is so cool! I can't believe you got hired into the Department of International Intelligence so quickly. What's it like spying on Egyptian Wizards in your free time?" laughed James.

"Boring! I'm just supposed to make sure they don't learn any ancient secrets and fail to inform the international society. Your Uncle Bill used to do the same thing. He posed working for Gringots just like I do. My name will even be listed on the Gringots payroll. Those Eygyptians will have no idea what I am. Ministry work should be interesting and when I retire from undercover international work I will be free to keep a desk job at the ministry or get a job at Gringots. Honestly, when Bill told me to apply for the job I never dreamed I would get it. This is my dream job."

"Yeah, sounds like a good deal, and you're rolling in the money too," commented James.

"Says the future Auror!" laughed Teddy. "How's training going? I didn't hear Orion complaining when I was gone last week."

"Ha, Orion's still getting crap from Swazi for that prank the first day."

"SHUT UP! How was I supposed to know that the guy with the great big brown mustache that was just begging me to charm it purple was my boss! He oversees everything from our physical and practical training in the mornings to our exams and such in the afternoon. He's in charge of the whole bloody Auror Academy, and I got on his bad side first day!"

"Things have been going downhill for Padfoot here since the first day. Poor guy," laughed James remembering when the older man had raged at Orion while he was still sporting a purple mustache.

"I never did like authority figures anyway," commented Orion, causing the other two to laugh.

"You're crazy, you know that right?"

"Well at least James is on easy street huh?" Teddy said to Orion who was chewing on a piece of bacon wolfishly.

"He feels like he has to 'prove himself' with daddy as department head. Hasn't been this much of a bloody show off since Dridel was rejecting him," moaned Orion. "If you had to see James showing off day and night, you'd be crazy too!" He directed the second part to James who rolled his eyes. They had reached the phone booth to find a long line of witches and wizards waiting outside. They got in line waving to a few coworkers and people they knew. Suddenly, the door to the phone booth opened and the line packed into the small room which had been put under an engorgement charm for the day. Stupid floo network and rules about apparating into the ministry. In the lobby, the friends separated as Orion and James headed to the Auror Academy Floor while Teddy went to the Department of International Intelligence better known and disguised as the Deparment of Gringots and Relations on floor nine, alongside the department of mysteries.

* * *

Later that night, four friends met up in three broomsticks. Elaine was the last to arrive and joined them at the booth they had found in the back of the room. She was grinning but her eyes were a bright green. Victoire called green her passionate color, because that was her color when she was angry and when she was in particular 'in love' mood. They were green around James quite a bit for both reasons. "Finally! Someone decided to grace us with her presence," announced Victoire with a smile. Elaine smiled if possible, even wider.

"So Sarah here has been positively bursting with news since we arrived. Can we hear it now?" asked ShiShi sipping a pink cocktail drink. Sarah smiled over her own alcoholic cocktail as Elaine ordered a cherry soda similar to the one Victoire was drinking. Victoire rolled her eyes knowing that her friend just didn't want her to feel left out as the only person without an alcoholic drink.

"Okay, as you all know," said Sarah with a grin almost as wide as Elaine's which was starting to make Victoire curious. "Frank and I will be getting married at the end of the summer. So, it's only inevitable that I announce my wedding party!" The other girls looked pleasantly surprised. "I want you girls to be my bridal party! With my younger sister of course! That's why the wedding is before Hogwarts starts up in September. Oh it's going to be so much fun! I'm going to pick out the prettiest dresses and OH! I'm so excited! Elaine, will you be my Maid of Honor?"

Elaine looked surprised and Victoire wondered how. Elaine was the glue that kept the girls together all through school and even now. She always kept fights from erupting and was a calming drought on any of her friends when they were upset. She was the one that all three of them went to for problems and questions. Honestly, Victoire didn't understand how Ellie hadn't seen this coming considering that she was the one that all of them would most likely choose as their MOH. She was the most organized and a perfectionist that would do an amazing job. On the big day and the stressful ones leading up to it, Elaine was the friend anyone would want to have there for them. ShiShi and Victoire shared a look as Elaine excitedly accepted the invitation happily. She was already promising to do the best job ever.

"Actually, while we are on the subject of weddings," said Elaine with her huge grin, her eyes had now dulled to a deep lavender happy color. "JAMES PROPOSED!" she squealed the last phrase and held out her left hand for all of the group to see the ring. It was an absolutely huge diamond on a gold band with two little red rubies on either side of the ring.

Victoire recognized the ring as one of the Potter heirlooms. She remembered the time she, James, and Teddy had played wedding, at her coercion of course. They had been seven and James had brought that ring for the wedding ring. She had forced Teddy to morph to look like her Uncle Ron and have red hair, blue eyes, and his nose shape, he had looked like a young version of Ron Weasley. However, she had been upset she didn't look like Aunt Hermione and so Teddy had been her dad, and she had been her mum instead on this occasion. Aunt Ginny had been positively horrified that they could have lost it when she discovered them with the ring. Her mother hadn't been too happy either when she had found out. Victoire almost visibly winced at the memory, and not just for the scolding she had gotten.

"Oh, what happened?" sighed Sarah looking at the beautiful ring. Victoire knew it had been the engagement ring of James's great-grandparents Dorea Black and Harold Potter. They had both been gryffindors and the gold band and red rubies were meant to remind them of where they had met.

"Well, James came over to the hospital during my lunch hour today and asked me if I wanted to meet up for dinner around five before I went to girls' night. I said sure, and we went to that fancy restaurant in Diagon Alley "The Three Brothers", you know the one that you have to get a reservation for about five weeks in advance, even if your last name is Potter. Well, we sat down, and I though he was nervous, but he flew into this whole spiel about how he only had about five more months of Auror training and then he would take his CATs, Cumulative Auror Tests, and be a Junior Auror. He was talking about how much money he would be making and how great the job was going to be, and then a year after that he would be a full fledged Auror. He was saying how five months seemed like a nice engagement period, and I didn't understand what he was saying until he was on his knee asking me if I would marry him. He said 'I chased you for three long years at Hogwarts, and now that I've got you, I can't imagine letting you go. If you reject me this time, it will be the 247th time, but I wouldn't be on my knee if I didn't think you would say yes. Make me the happiest man in the world and agree to be my wife?' He looked so adorable I couldn't say no."

ShiShi sighed romantically and Sarah grinned. Victoire felt a pang. If Ellie married James, what would she do? She would be alone in their big apartment, and Ellie would be busy with babies and husbands and marital bliss.

* * *

"So, she said yes!" exclaimed a grinning James as he apparated into the kitchen where the other three marauders were already involved in a high stakes game of poker. At the time, Teddy was winning, but now that James was here, he could forget any thoughts of breaking even. _Lucky son of a bitch, gets the girl, gets a family, gets my money_ he thought. Orion clapped his friend on the back and handed him a firewhiskey while they congratulated him. James took a seat as Murphy dealt him into the game, and Teddy kissed his galleons goodbye. Some guys had all the luck.

"Alright, well we'll finish this game and then how about a trip to Three Broomsticks to celebrate the first marauder to get engaged! Then we'll drag him to Hogwarts and throw him in the lake for old times sake!" laughed Orion. The game finished up quickly with James winning as Teddy had predicted. The four slightly drunk men then headed out down the street to Three Broomsticks.

As they arrived, the bell above the door tinkled merrily, and the somewhat quiet pub was filled with their laughter as they headed over to the bar.

"Rum for me and my friends, it's on me!" exclaimed James happily sitting down and addressing the bartender.

"What's the occasion James?" asked the woman with a grin.

"We're celebrating, James here is gonna get married to the broad he's been pining after for four years!" laughed Orion taking his rum happily.

"Yup, and these are my groomsmen, Orion here's my best man!"

"Bloody Hell James, maybe this you getting married isn't such a great idea, never told me I had to make a speech!" exclaimed Orion surprised.

"Uh, right, maybe Teddy might make the speech?"

"NO WAY! Orion's doing, it will be fuckin' 'ilarious!" laughed Teddy imagining a drunk Orion joking his way through a speech.

"I'm not sure I want a 'fuckin' 'ilarious' speech at my wedding," came a voice causing the boys to turn around on their stools and see Elaine, as pretty as could be with her hands on her hips.

"ELLIE! My LOVE!" exclaimed James. "Dance with me!" he said spontaneously pulling her into a waltz. Elaine laughed, throwing her head back at the craziness of it all while Victoire and her friends smiled on.

"Well, I won't make it too bad Lainey, just make sure I give the speech before I have too much firewhiskey," said Orion, somewhat slurring his words. Teddy wasn't sure if he was actually that drunk or slurring intentionally.

After James and Ellie's impromptu dance, the boys joined Ellie and her friends at their booth. Victoire couldn't help but notice that Teddy sat as far away from her as possible as she was sandwiched between James and Orion, a bit of an uncomfortable spot. She tried not to notice him and pay attention to the lively conversation that the marauders brought with them, but she was inevitably distracted and ended up merely pretending to listen and nodding her head at the appropriate parts or cracking a smile when she heard everyone start laughing.

Teddy on the other hand was nursing his rum in a surly manner as he stared down the table at the beautiful blond who seemed to be of another planet. He wasn't drunk enough that he did anything stupid, but he caught himself wanting to reach out and touch the golden locks of her hair, just to see if they were real.

At about eleven thirty, the girls had to leave. A healer's day started early, and they had to be up with the sun. After their departure, Orion pulled the other three marauders out the door and back to the house where they had to drag James down the passageway to Hogwarts where they shoved him in the lake, he wasn't very happy, but Teddy laughed for the first time that night since they had run into the girls at the bar.

After that, the boys transformed and had a good game of tag in the forbidden forest before returning to the shack, and sleeping off their hangovers old school style in the kitchen.

**Hope you liked it! Sorry it's a little short. Please review and I'll post next chapter sooner! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you like it!! **

**Ellie**


	2. Edward Knots

The next morning, Teddy had a considerably harder time getting the other boys up for work. He wasn't sure what he would have done if Ellie's large package of eggs and toast hadn't arrived via Floo for him to lure them out of bed. They had apparated to work and on the way promised to meet up for lunch a small muggle café.

When the arrived in the ministry, Teddy immediately headed to the ninth floor where the Department of Mysteries was located. On his way, he pondered over the first three weeks and one day of his job. After being directed via owl to report to room 337 in the Department of Mysteries for his first day of work, he had been through a tumultuous chain of events.

The first two weeks had consisted of a vigorous training program in which he was familiarized with his duties as a Gringots worker and an agent of the Department of International Intelligence. He had been given a thick manual on Gringots protocol and the runes he was to familiarize himself with before school had even gotten out. His first day at work, he had met two men in black muggle suits and sunglasses who had been his instructors for the next two weeks, Alfred and Bernie. He had been briefed on what sort of suspicious things he was looking for, and why he was there to begin with. The rest of his training had been centered around spying. He had working on perfecting disguises through human transformation and charms. He didn't tell them he was a metamorphagus as he figured it was best to learn the normal way. The more types of disguises he had open to him, the better. He was taught stealth which was almost unnecessary due to his extensive expertise in the field due to his days as a marauder where he had honed the skill by playing pranks and sneaking about the castle. He had received quite the compliments on this aspect of his training. He was taught during those two weeks of intensive everything he needed to know about becoming a spy from the self defensive tricks, to tracking, and sneaking, to disguising, and escaping.

The next week, the two had proclaimed him ready for field work, quite early they had added. He had been faced with his first mission: go to Egypt posing as a tourist. Once in the country, he was to go to Cairo and familiarize himself with the city. As a new Gringots Curse Breaker, he would have to pretend to be new to the city, but as a spy he needed to know escape routs, apparition points, hide outs, and where things were. He was to visit the pyramids and tombs he would work in for the same reason. He secured an apartment to live in while in Egypt and keep as his correspondence headquarters with the ministry. Therefore, he had to make sure it had some type of secret room and two unrelated entrances.

He had returned from his successful mission on Saturday, and upon reporting to work on Monday, he had been supposed to meet with his boss, the head of the department. However, some international catastrophe of the spy network must have occurred as he had been left sitting in the waiting room all day unable to meet with the man.

The wooden chair had been hard, and the only reading materials had been a three month old issue of Witch Weekly Magazine and the Daily Prophet from the Wednesday before that was missing the Sports section.

The elderly witch who was the boss' secretary had kept giving him dirty glances over her thick glasses, and her frizzing grey hair made her look like a hag. She seemed senile and had a funny accent when she talked, or rather sang to herself, while he waited. She had kept the wireless on and sang along so off-tune whenever a Cecilia Warback song came on, it seemed almost intentional. Teddy wasn't looking forward to spending another day with her.

When he arrived in the department, he coldn't help but notice how well it was disguised as a banking office for Gringots. While the goblins ran their bank, the department appeared to be doing much of the executive work. Apparently this had been a façade for centuries so that the wizarding society would trust the bank that seemed to be run by witches and wizards while Goblins really were happy to run the entire thing. The ministry agreed to this in order to hide their undercover operations and spy network which Gringots helped them facilitate. This left both sides happy, and the public none the wiser.

Teddy approached the desk of Ms. Fornswaith who peered over her bug eyed glasses at him and cleared her throat loudly before making a funny face as if she had smelled something horrible.

"Er, I'm here for a meeting with Mr. Pacino," said Teddy uncomfortably. He tried not to count the numerous wrinkles on the ugly old woman's face.

"AhhHHH, Mr. LoooOOOpin," she said in a high squeaky voice drawing his name out and saying it in a strange way. She seemed quite batty to Teddy. "He iiis ready to seeeeeeee you." She drew out the I's and E's like a screaming tea kettle that hurt Teddy's ears. Teddy gave her a strange look as he passed into the office of a Mr. A. Pacino, Department Head.

"Hello?" he said reaching the open doorway and seeing an intimidating large desk in front of him in the large dark office. Behind the desk, a tall black chair had it's back to him.

"Come in, close the door behind you, and sit down," came a booming voice. Teddy did as he was told. "Regretfully, I could not meet with you yesterday, but I had pressing matters to attend to."

"No problem Mr. Pacino."

"Ah, Pacino, my predecessor had a fixation with some stupid muggle movie, I'm known as Godfather, or Scarface around here. No need for formalities, it's not my real name anyways." The man spun slowly around in his chair to reveal an older man, solidly built in his youth and quite tall. He had a full head of distinguished grey white hair and indeed had a long thick scar marring his wise looking face. Teddy looked into his penetrating dark black eyes and gulped, this was a man to fear.

"The file in front of you contains your new identity Mr. Lupin. To protect yourself, those around you, and the business, you shall have an alias of Edward Knots while abroad that only a few select friends and family should know. Tonks, Knots, clever huh? The picture there is your disguise. While I know you are a metamophagus, your trainers did not. I suggest using your morphing ability while abroad, even when sleeping. It is why your are perfect for the job. All of your papers as Edward are in there. Even in this office you will go by Edward Knots, esteemed curse breaker and banker. Your office is down the hall on the right and your secretary shall be Mrs. Smith. I and Ms. Fornswiath are the only people in the entire office that will know your true identity. You shall send all reports to either myself, Ms. Fornswiath, or Mrs. Smith as if your are Edward Knots. You have already been taught the code for the messages, and I'm sure you will have no problems. Any questions?"

"No Mr. Godfather, sir," said Teddy secretly alarmed to know the batty secretary would be one of two protecting his identity. She was a nutter!

"Well, your first interval in Egypt will be the next two weeks where you will send a report every two days. At the end of the two weeks you will report back to me on Thursday and then have a three day weekend off before returning to Egypt. Now, test out your new identity, and if I find it fitting, you may be off to your office."

Teddy morphed his face easily into the pictured handsome man with a slightly crooked nose, a long lean face, sharp brown eyes, dark slanted brows, yet a comforting kind smile. His hair became the long dark brown ponytail, and his skin became slightly more tanned.

"Excellent, better than I thought. Thank you Edward, good day and you'll leave tomorrow then."

"Thank you er.. Godfather," said Teddy awkwardly in the new voice of Edward. He had changed his vocal cords to match the "deep voice with a slight Welsh accent" that was described in the file. He left the office and headed down the hall to find his office which was quite large, and meet his personal secretary.

* * *

Teddy didn't notice as he left that the strange secretary had walked into Mr. Pacino's office, sequestering herself and the boss as she closed the door.

"Fleur, I do wish you'd act a little more sane as my secretary, love. Ted thought you were absolutely bonkers!" Said the redhead sitting behind the desk as the blond veela sat down on the edge of his desk.

"Aww Bill, sweetie, I vas just 'aving a little fun. I vasn't nearly as bad as I vas vith Charlie yesterday," she said flipping through a file on his desk.

"Yes, but Charlie knows it's you under all those spells and also finds it hilarious. Besides, Charlie is not a true agent, he does this out of brotherly love and the fact I pay well to keep an eye on the Romanians and Hungarians."

"Oh Bill! You're no fun!" she pouted prettily.

"I'll show you fun! Aren't men like me supposed to have affairs with their secretaries?" he said reaching across the desk and pulling her into his lap.

"MR. WEASLEY! I'm not sure your wife vould approve!" exclaimed Fleur in mock indignation.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her, and somehow I don't think she'd mind," laughed Bill with a wink.

* * *

Teddy approached the door that said EDWARD KNOTS with caution, not exactly knowing what to expect. The door had a window in it, but the blinds were down, so he was forced to enter not knowing what to expect.

"Hello, how may I help you?" asked a stern voice as he walked into the small room. There were two chairs to one side of the door and a desk on the other where it appeared his secretary was working. She was a stern looking woman in her thirties with dark hair pulled back severely and sharp horn rimed glasses. She looked a bit intimidating, and almost had a McGonagall look to her. In front of him, across the office, was another door that lead into his office and had a golden name plate reading Edward Knots on the door.

"Mrs. Smith?" asked Teddy holding out his hand.

"Mr. Knots! Ah, it's so good to meet you, I'm Anne Smith, and your office is right through there. If you need anything at all, please, don't feel shy to ask. There is a button on your desk that will notify me if you need anything. Please feel free to call me in or tell me if you need something. Welcome to the department!" her entire demeanor changed as she realized it was him, and Teddy had a suspicion that she treated all visitors warily.

"Thank you Mrs. Smith, I'll tell you if I need anything, but for now, I'll be familiarizing myself with my office. I'm leaving for Egypt tomorrow, so I had best get anything here cleared up today."

"Would you like me to check your floo itinerary and get your tickets together?" she asked. "I can also arrange for a car to take your luggage to the Floo port."

"That would be wonderful, I don't think it would be a good idea to apparate with all of my luggage to a foreign country. Wouldn't want to splinch myself," said Teddy, surprised that the secretary would do that for him.

"No problem, also, would you like me to arrange for a lunch to be delivered to your office today?"

"Actually, I will be eating out, but thank you," said Teddy as he walked into his office. He had long heard about ministry offices and hadn't expected much. However, he was quite surprised. His office even had an enchanted window which he knew was a sign of prestige as even uncle Percy had gone years without a window in his youth. He grinned looking around the room. On the left wall was a window depicting a cloudy day with an impending storm while on the opposite wall was a large map of the world with red dots representing each Gringots Branch around the world. There was a special map of just Egypt that showed each of the ancient Gringots branches that were undergoing special magical investigations, especially the one where he would be working, the Great Pyramid.

Across from the door was a large dark wood desk with a comfortable looking black chair behind it. Edward Knots was on the golden nameplate and there was an ostrich feather quill in an expensive looking inkwell ready for him to use. There were already several files stacked neatly on his desk, and he noticed that the bookcase behind the desk was already filled with books on ancient runes, the pyramids, curses, arithmancy, and the history of Gringots Banking. He crossed the room to find they were organized by topic neatly.

"I hope I did a satisfactory job of organizing your things? I hung the maps up, but I wasn't exactly sure how you wanted the books, so they are by topic, not title or author," came Mrs. Smith's voice as she entered the room with a steaming cup of tea. "I wasn't sure how you liked your tea? Cream, sugar?"

"I drink it plain, thank you very much, and the office is wonderful. Thank you for organizing my things," he said opening a book to find his name Edward Knots, written in the cover. They even had fake possessions for him? This was quite the undercover job.

"Yes, well Mr. Pacino just sent a memo that they sent someone to your house and all of your things have been packed. You don't need to worry about lifting a finger to even pack your toothbrush." Teddy raised his eyebrows. It was impossible for someone to have gone to the shack and get any of his things. The shack was under many magical spells that only the marauders could visit. Even Ellie hadn't ever come to the shack. She didn't know where the boys were living and just knew that she could reach them by owl and floo packages to them. This must mean that he would have entirely new clothes, trunks, and furniture for his new place provided by the department. His idea was confirmed when she handed him a paper airplane memo that unfolded in his hand and told him as much. It said to only bring what he absolutely had to and leave all important things at home in case he was ever forced to abandon his post without bringing his things. All he really needed was his wand and a clean pair or two of clothes to travel in.

Teddy went behind his desk, deciding to look at the files, and found they were information about his coworkers and the Egyptians he would be working with. He read each carefully, learning who was in on the operation and who wasn't, who was his ally and who his enemy, who he was supposed to watch for what and who he could ask for help. It was an intensive morning, and in no time he was off to the café with his friends who he met in the lobby.

* * *

The four boys sat in the café eating sandwitches while Teddy discussed the turn of events. Murphy was sweaty from morning practice while James and Orion looked like practical had been quite strenuous today. Teddy was the only one that didn't look like he needed a shower.

"So you're telling me, that they have this whole secret identity set up for you, and you're leaving tomorrow morning from the flooport at seven?" asked Murphy between mouthfuls of food.

"Yes, and they got me all new furniture and clothes and things for my apartment, and even my office, there are a bunch of books that all have my false name in them like I wrote them in there, I was flipping through one and it was inscribed to me from my mum. 'To my little Edward, may you one day see these wondrous pyramids for yourself! Love, mum.' It's bloody ridiculous! I'm not kidding!"

"We're gonna miss you dear friend. EDWARD, DON'T LEAVE US!" laughed Orion reaching across the table to hand onto Teddy's arm. "Don't leave me here!"

"Oh, shut up Padfoot! You're making a scene."

"Well, we will miss you and it's too bad we won't get to have a proper sendoff party for you! Perhaps last night should count? All of the girls were there too."

"Yeah, all the girls," murmured Teddy. "Well, I'll owl you guys when I can, and I'll see you two weeks from next Friday. Good luck getting those two out of bed while I'm gone," he joked to James.

"Yeah, I know! Anyways, how about we get your favorite Chinese takeout and have a little dinner and then maybe play some cards or something tonight before you go? Nothing too crazy, just a little dinner," suggested James.

"I have, other plans tonight for dinner, but maybe later for cards," replied Teddy thinking of some things he needed to do.

"Ok, well definitely you have to play a game of cards after your plans. Oh, and maybe put on the wireless and listen to the season opener for the Chudley Cannons? Murphy plays their reserve team in two weeks, I think it's a Saturday game, so we can all go!" continued Orion.

"Really, Murph, that's great! I didn't realize the season was starting so soon, you've only been practicing for three weeks," said Teddy.

"Yeah, well the English circuit has a short season, the national league plays year round and all. But we're pretty happy to play from mid June to Christmas. The off season is when I'll get a lot of training done this year. From what I've heard, it's great, nothing but scrimmages all the time and just playing and playing. Not that I don't love what I'm doing now. But, you know, less game pressure, a lot more experience with different players, a learning experience."

"Well, try and get us some tickets so I can see you when I get back. I'll pay for em, you know, since I'm starting my big job," said Teddy hoping to get to see his friend play.

"Yeah, I'll do that. But, I have to try and get a shower in before strategy session at two and then we have another practice at four, so I better get back to the pitch. See you guys tonight around six," said Murphy getting up and tossing some bills on the table before leaving.

"Yeah, our first afternoon class is in a little less than an hour and we also need showers. We'll see you tonight," said James looking at his watch after Murphy's abrupt exit. "See ya Teddy, or should I say Eddie?"

Oh, that was clever, Teddy, Eddie, Edward, now he knew why they had chosen the name. It would be much easier to respond to when it was so similar to his real name. Teddy looked at his watch and deciding he had enough time, apparated to the large brick house in the center of London that he knew unlike any other. Going up to the door he knocked gently waiting for the door to be opened.

A grey haired woman with a kind face that had once been very beautiful opened the door with a look of surprise. "Teddy! What are you doing here darling? You look wonderful, come in, have a cup of tea!"

"Hi Gran," he said hugging her. "I don't have a lot of time before my lunch hour is over, so we'll have to make this brief."

"Oh, of course, you're a hot shot now aren't you, working for Gringots and all, my bridge club was so impressed!" she said looking him over and rushing in with a plate full of biscuits and a cup of unsweetened tea.

"Something like that," he said taking the plate as she sat down. He couldn't help but notice how old she looked. He never remembered her looking this old before he went to Hogwarts, and every year, her age surprised him when he came home. He hadn't seen her much since graduating, and he wished he had.

"Well, what brings you here, love?"

"I was called into the boss's office today and they are ready to send me to Egypt. I leave tomorrow."

"What short notice dear, I can't image what it will be like to pack!"

"Well, I'll only be gone for two weeks, and then I'll get a couple days off. I'll be sure to come visit."

"That's not bad, but tell me, are you excited?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. It sounds like a great opportunity, and seeing the pyramids will be very enlightening. Remember how I used to pretend I was Bill Weasley, Curse Breaker extraordinaire, and go around the yard and the basement with that toy wand pretending I was exploring the pyramids and fighting off mummies and mutant scorpions and gouls? Now I get to do the real thing."

"Oh, yes, and your little Victoire tagging along being the damsel in distress! I still don't understand why James always liked being the villain, being the hero is so much more fun, and you get the pretty damsel," commented his Gran.

"James thought girls had cooties, and Victoire was his cousin after all. He just liked to scare her."

"Always a trouble maker that one. His gran came by earlier today and told me all about how he was engaged and would be the first of her little ones to get married. The whole time she was sobbing all over my blue afghan. I'm pretty sure the cup of tea I gave her was salty by the time she drank it. She's happy though, she can't wait to plan it all with the girl, Elaine, I believe. Molly said she's such a pretty girl, do you know her?"

"Yes, she's wonderful. She's a lot like Aunt Ginny, very pretty with a temper, excellent cook, very talented, she was headgirl you know. She's at healer training with Victoire, they share an apartment and are very good friends."

"Oh, that's wonderful. If Vicky likes her, then I'm sure I will too. I should have her over while you're gone. I'm sure to need some company without you visiting every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday with Sunday dinner at Molly's. I'll miss you Teddy, make me proud." Teddy smirked as his Gran used her nickname for Victoire. Only Gran ever called her that, and him really, but only to get on her nerves would he call her Vicky.

"Thanks Gran, don't worry, I will. You be safe here, and don't miss me too much. I'll miss you too, and I'll write when I have time. Thanks for the tea and cookies." Teddy rose and hugged his grandmother before kissing her on both cheeks and then apparating back toward the ministry. Andromeda sighed wistfully and began taking the dishes out with her to the kitchen from the parlor where she had said goodbye to her Grandson while a single tear slipped down her cheek. She would miss him so very much.

* * *

That night, Teddy stood in the rain outside of the apartment building looming in front of him. A bag of Chinese food in his hand, he had decided to ditch the marauders and come here, but now he wasn't sure if he could. Was he a Gryffindor or not? He decided he needed to go and prove himself and marched up to the door where he pressed the buzzer with determination.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Vic."

_"Is that you Teddy?"_

"No, this is Lord Voldemort speaking," he joked earning a laugh from the other side. "Yeah, it's me, who else calls you Vic?"

_"What are you doing here?"_

"I was hoping to talk to you, and if you're disinclined to let me in, I brought death eaters, I mean Chinese food to help me gain entrance." She laughed again.

_"Well I'm rather afraid of those death eaters so I better let you in huh? I'll just buzz you in, one second."_

* * *

"Toire, would you like it if I somehow disappeared?" asked Ellie from the couch where she had been watching a muggle program on the telly.

"Err.. well," said Victoire uncertainly. She didn't know why Teddy was here, and if he was here to profess his undying love for her, then perhaps it would be better if Ellie wasn't here to make him nervous and witness it.

"I'll just head over to ShiShi's, I'm sure she could use some company that isn't just snogging all over her couch and eating her food."

"Thanks El," grinned Victoire as her friend turned on the spot. She rushed to the mirror and fluffed her hair, checking her appearance. She was wearing the blue scrubs she had worn to work today under her robes, but that couldn't be changed now as Teddy was already knocking on the door. She hurried to the door trying to appear calm and collected.

Opening the door, she grinned seeing Teddy a little wet from the rain, holding a bag of Chinese food, and looking a little uncomfortable. "Look what the cat dragged in," she joked whipping out her wand and performing a drying spell as he came in.

"Yeah, I probably look a sight, but I had a bit of difficulty with your buzzy thing," lied Teddy not wanting to tell her that he had indeed just been too nervous and indecisive to come in and had stood in the rain for a good ten minutes before making up his mind. What was he even doing here?

"Oh, I figured you came with James enough that you knew how to use it."

"Err.. yeah, well I forget things sometimes. I have a lot on my mind. Here's the food, I was hungry for it, and since it's your favorite too…" He looked around the apartment, seeing the TV on. "Is Ellie home? I didn't think to bring some for her, but I'm sure there's enough."

"She's at ShiShi's keeping her company. ShiShi gets a little exasperated with Frank and Sarah around all the time and needs some girl talk sometimes."

"I get it, well, shall we?" he asked stepping into the kitchen that was painted yellow and lavender. He loved their apartment, it was so bright and sunny, so Victoire and Elaine. Their living room was a pale blue and their bathroom was bright orange. It seemed alive and bright compared to the mostly dark and dingy Shrieking Shack. He looked out at their large sun room, it was his favorite part of the small apartment. Stepping out into the large octagonal shaped glass room, he looked around at the bright London lights around them. The view was unbelievable. Looking around the room he saw the many plants that he knew Victoire carefully cultivated in her spare time. She had always loved gardening and this bright greenhouse room was perfect. He noticed a large green armchair that he hadn't seen before where Toire must have left a book.

"Teddy, I set the table, stop staring at the skyline and come in and eat!" she laughed, coming out into the warm room to pull him back inside the kitchen where she had set out the Chinese food.

"So, besides wanting to share in this wonderful Chinese feast, what's on your mind Ted? I know that you must have some other reason for stopping by?" prompted Victoire not long after they had started the meal.

"Well, I just wanted to come say goodbye. I'm leaving tomorrow for Egypt, curse breaker assignment came up quickly. I didn't expect to leave so soon and I wanted to say goodbye."

"What! I thought you were going to be working _at_ Gringots like my dad now!"

"Well, I'm working for Gringots. I'll be gone a lot in Egypt working as a curse breaker at the pyramids."

"So, you're just leaving? When? For how long?"

"Well, tomorrow morning. I'm going to be gone for two weeks this time, then I come home for three days, and I don't know how long I'll be gone before I get another chance to come back."

"So, I won't see you for two weeks? You won't be at any of the get togethers or anything?"

"Yeah, I'll be stuck in Cairo," he said dejectedly.

"Oh, but I'm sure you'll be having lots of fun, it will be just like old times when you used to pretend you were my dad and that you were a curse breaker breaking into tombs and getting treasure!"

"Yeah, but this time I won't have you there with me whining about how the basement at my Gran's is full of spiders," laughed Teddy.

"Eww! I remember why I never wanted to play that game now."

"Ha! Just how I never wanted to play tea party with your dolls and Dominique."

"Oh my gosh! I had forgotten that! I think I have a picture of one of our tea parties somewhere. I think I made you wear a pink hat and you were quite mad."

Over the rest of their dinner, they reminisced about old times and didn't branch the subject of Teddy leaving in the morning again until they were sitting on the couch drinking their tea.

"Thanks for the Chinese food," said Toire drinking her super sweet tea, seven lumps of sugar. Teddy always thought it was cute that she had to put so much sugar in it. It made the tea almost as sweet as her. "It was really nice to see you before you left, I'm gonna miss you Tedders!"

"Oh, come on! Even my gran didn't say that when I stopped over to say goodbye."

"HA! Well, in all seriousness, I will miss you. I didn't realize how little I would get to see you when you chose this job."

"I'll miss you too Toire. But, I actually came here hoping you would do a favor for me. I'm not supposed to bring anything valuable to Cairo with me, just in case things happen or whatnot. And, I'm not sure I trust my roommates not to blow up the house while I'm gone, during a prank gone wrong or something. In any case, I have something I would like you to take care of for me. Do you mind?"

"Teddy, absolutely not, whatever it is, be it your chocolate frog card collection or your favorite books."

"Well, it was my mothers, my father gave it to her." He pulled out the white gold heart shaped locket with a howling wolf engraved on the front surrounded by stars and a full moon. "It's pretty special to me, and I've always kept it with me since I was in third year and my gran gave it to me to keep, but I don't think I can bring it with me to Egypt, so I'd like you to take care of it for me."

"Oh, Teddy, are you sure?" said Victoire taking the locket reverently, knowing how much the necklace meant to him. He had adored it since his grandmother had first shown it to him when they were children. She rubbed her thumb gently over the engraved wolf before opening it. On the left was a little miniature of Remus and Nymphadora Lupin smiling up at the viewer as they embraced each other happily. On the other side was a picture of Teddy as a baby with his bright turquoise hair and a big grin on his face.

"I wouldn't trust anyone else," he whispered. "Take care of it for me."

`"I won't let you down. I'll take very good care of it," she said leading him to the door and carefully placing the necklace in her scrubs pocket, knowing she would have it around her neck the second he walked out the door.

"Take care of yourself, Vic, I wana come back and find you in one piece,"

"I will, you're going to be back in two weeks! Honestly! But, in any case, same to you. Come back in one piece."

"Thanks Toire, for everything. I love you, you know that," he said making sure his words sounded entirely platonic while he was really putting so much more meaning behind them than she would ever know. Why he couldn't work up the courage to kiss her goodbye or proclaim his undying love for her, he would never know. However, he could hug her and heard her whisper, "Love you too Ted," which, although he knew was entirely platonic, he couldn't help be let his heart leap for job.

He didn't notice the shining eyes as she closed the door behind him, and smiled at the irony. Victoire had his heart, and now she had his locket too, his heart locket. They would stay in London together, his locket, Victoire, his heart. Meanwhile, Victoire fastened the pale chain around her neck.

**This chapter sorta explains the title, how Teddy will be in Egypt, but his love rests with Victoire, so his heart is staying in London and the necklace symbolizes that. I hope everyone got that, but wanted to explain... Anyways.. PLEASE REVIEW! I will start writing the next chapter right now... lol, I really wanted to post this one though so you had a better idea of how this story is going. Anyways, It won't be as long as marauders class of 2018, I'm thinking less than twenty chapters, around fifteen at most. So, please send me feedback and thanks to those who already have! **

**Ellie**


	3. Missing You

Teddy shifted under the gaze of his predecessor. "So you're Knots, the new guy. Nice to meet you. I had your job, living in the city and all for the last five years. However, my girlfriend got fed up with Cairo and the erm… the precautions of living here, and when we got married, she wanted me to go back to England. Understandable, and I love her, don't get me wrong. We'll have you over for dinner sometime maybe. I just apparate every day now, but someone needs to be here basically twenty-four seven, and that's you."

"Yup, that's me," said Teddy looking around the small cramped field station. There was an assortment of desks and each had a messy bit of paperwork on them that gave the aura of business to the room. However, upon investigating more carefully, the papers had a thin layer of dust that belied the semblance of activity in the room. "So, this is the office?"

"Well, this is where we are supposed to do all the 'paperwork', but erm, the majority of it is sent back to the main office. We simply ship the goods we uncover in the tombs with any information we deem necessary and let them do all that horrid filing and paperwork. Gives me a headache," said Harrison Davis. Harri, as he liked to be called, scratched his short curly black hair and looked around the room.

"Yeah, I always hated doing that sort of thing too," agreed Teddy, hoping that they would leave soon if they weren't going to do anything here.

"Yup, well, that's the field station, we come here about once a week and try and pretend to work… you know, just to keep being paid. Most of the time we are in the actual field. The ancient tombs were a combination of things as I'm sure you know, burial chambers, storage for important documents and secrets, bank vaults for the original wizarding society, and libraries of ancient knowledge. To date, there has been only one scroll room that was discovered in the early seventeen hundreds. This one room containing only 150 scrolls of ancient spells, potions, and knowledge opened up a huge door in the magical society by supplying knowledge that hadn't been known for centuries since it was lost in the dark ages. Hopefully, we could find another such room. However, most of the rooms we find, which is about one or two a month, merely contain mummified bodies, and wealth. The wealth belongs to Gringots who researches the ancient lineages and sees if the owner of the ancient vault has someone who the money belongs to, and if not, then the money is divided between Goblins, and the Ministry. As curse breakers, we wait until the Egyptians break the curses leading to the next room, and then we collect everything from the room. Over half of it's cursed in at least some way and we have to spend a great deal of time making everything normal again, making it safe, taking all the wards down. These spells have been here for thousands of years, and well, some of them have had time to stew. Quite the nasty things they are. Especially if the person who owned them was royal! Honestly! But some of the treasures you'll see are amazing! What I wouldn't do to be one of the few who ever inherits something from one of these vaults! Well, actually some of it's pretty nasty stuff, like, dark magic crap, but you know."

"Yeah, it would be like winning the lottery."

"Yeah," said the long winded man. Teddy hoped he didn't go into another long explanation or speech. They were finally at the tombs, and while he had visited them as a tourist, he was going to be seeing the parts not open to the public, and he wanted to be able to look at them and not have to listen to Harrison ramble. The entrance was secluded and didn't look like much, just a tent, but then, in the tent was a set of stairs that lead to a corridor that stretched downward into the deep layers of earth under the Egyptian desert.

Entering the corridor, there was a few people passing them, going back from the ends of the hallway, but Teddy couldn't pay attention as he looked around him. The long corridor was well lit magically with white orbs placed near the ceiling every few feet. The walls were decorated with beautiful ancient paintings, murals, engravings, and runes. Some entire walls were covered in ancient runes text. Every few feet or so was another door, and while the inside would be empty most of the time, the vacant rooms were also covered in runes and paintings.

"Wow," said Teddy after they had gone a few hundred feet. "This is amazing, all these paintings and murals, what are they of?"

"Well, we don't know some of them, some of them depict legends, others depict what we believe to merely be ancient scenes or their versions of portraits. We think they are just art, but some of them are quite interesting."

"So no one has studied these?" asked Teddy running his hand along a portrait of a beautiful woman holding an owl on her hand and a baby in her arms while she sat on a throne.

"Nope, at first, people were interested in translating every word on the walls and investigating every picture, but now there are so many, and it takes years to translate even a small wall of runes, it's just too much work. Sometimes they do the first few lines or try to pick out some repeated words and see if they can get the general gist of a mural. Most of them are dry family histories while others are legends that we already know. Spells are usually marked specially so they know any of those might be important. Largely most runes go unstudied."

"That's," Teddy said trying to think of the right word. "Disappointing, it might not seem important, but if it was important enough for people to write down, perhaps it's worth reading after all."

"Maybe you're right, but you've only been here a day."

"True, what does this one mean?" asked Teddy pointing to one randomly.

"That one I believe, and I don't really know a lot of them, is a version of a werewolf legend. A legend on how werewolves came to be. I think they translated the first few lines and found them to be one of the legends almost exactly. It's not fully translated though, almost none are. I don't think anyone even studies this one."

"Oh," said Teddy already planning to come make a copy of the wall so he could translate it. He had always been a bit fascinated by werewolves, and he would read that if it took him years to translate. And, considering it looked to be thousands of runes long, it might take him years.

"Yes, well hurry along, we have quite a ways to go before we get to the room you will be cataloging. I think the room we set aside for you had a devilishly complex sticking charm on some of the things in there, also, a few other curses. Most of the ones on the door have been broken, but you'll need to make sure that all wards are down and then make sure there aren't any side rooms. Sometimes you'll find a side room off of a vault, an entire secret chamber with new curses and wards. Quite fun."

Teddy nodded and they made their way down the hallway. With this guy, he was sure to have his ear talked off on a daily basis. However, he couldn't wait to get started on his work. Curse breaking would be interesting to say the least.

* * *

"Gran!" laughed Victoire as the door opened to the large house in front of her. "How are you!?"

"Vicky! How great to see you! I haven't seen you since graduation!" she laughed beckoning for the girl to come inside and go into the parlor while she got a few cups of tea and some biscuits.

"Gran Tonks! You always have fresh biscuits!" exclaimed Victoire as Andromeda came into the room carrying the plate and tea set.

"Well, with Tedders around, I got into the habit of baking all of the time. That boy ate more chocolate chip cookies as a child than any child I've ever met! He ate more chocolate than I thought humanly possible!"

"That's Teddy for you," answered Victoire sipping her tea and frowning as she scooped two more lumps of sugar into the bitter drink. Gran Tonks always had very bitter tea, but that might be because that was the way Teddy liked his tea. Unsweetened. "Has he written you much?" she asked.

"A bit, about twice a week, telling me how things are going, he told me a funny story about one of his coworkers and a snake. He was disappointed when his return home got delayed and he didn't get to see Murphy's game. He said he was stuck there for another few weeks, but he promised he would be back for your friend Sarah's wedding."

"Yes, that's about what he told me too," answered Victoire who was secretly pleased that she received the same number of letters a week from Ted. "The guy tried to reverse a curse and ended up with four arms. He thought they were so cool and useful he wanted to keep them. Apparently he claimed his wife liked them too."

The two laughed for a bit over this one. Teddy had relayed the story in such a funny manner it was impossible not to. "So," continued Victoire. "Has he mentioned, seeing anyone?"

"Not to me! Surely he would tell me. Has he mentioned anything to you, Vic?"

"Oh, no, just wondering. I'm certain there are lots of beautiful women falling all over him down there. I know that there are part sphinx women who are almost as beautiful as Veelas."

"Oh, no, well he hasn't mentioned them. In any case, darling, how is your Healer Training going? When do you take your HAREs?" asked Gran Tonks changing the subject with a knowing look in her eye that Victoire didn't notice as she glanced around the room.

"Well, pretty well, I've been getting good marks in everything. HAREs aren't for over a year, thankfully. I still don't know what I want to specialize in yet though. I could go for general and not specialize, but I would really like to have special cases. I was thinking either spell damage, maternity, or potions damage. Anything but bites really," replied Victoire , still thoughtfully looking around the cozy parlor. The blue afghan was still on the sofa the same as it always had, the long curtains pulled back to let light enter the room. The table in the corner still had the long tablecloth hanging over it.

She remembered the tents she had made in this room with the afghan and the tables. This room was the room where the dragon lived that kept the princess in the high tower and the brave knight came to the rescue on his broom. James was such a prat when she was the princess and he was the knight. That's why she preferred when he was the dragon, then it was acceptable to be a prat to the princess. And that's how they normally played, unless James was mad they were playing. If he wanted to play a different game, he would insist on being the knight because he knew, then Victoire wouldn't want to play. She frowned. James had been such a prat, why was she letting her best friend marry him.

"Is something wrong dear, about bites?"

"Well, I don't know, I always end up on that floor, and it's ridiculous! I am always there! I would really rather be somewhere less, connected to me I guess. With all the bites in the family, it's hard not to see every person who comes in with a dragon bite as Uncle Charlie."

"Well, my husband Ted, he was a healer you know. I think he liked being able to relate to the cases he worked on. It made him a better healer because he wanted them to live, treating each of them like he would someone he had been close to his entire life. If you treat each person as you would treat your uncle Charlie, then you'll do a better job."

"Where did he specialize?" asked Victoire.

"Potions damage, he was quite the potion maker. Neither Nymphadora nor Tedders inherited his ability though. Neither are especially astute in potions. Teddy takes after me in charms and defense against the dark arts though," answered Andromeda smiling at the memory of her husband and daughter.

"Yes, potions seems interesting. Besides, if I specialize in potions, I could mix potions in the apothecary for the entire hospital, remedies, pain potions, skelo-grow. That sort of thing. And I was always just behind Elaine in potions, and I could work with a lot of plants. I don't know anything really."

"Well, you are a talented, wonderful young woman. I still remember when you would play under my card tables pretending you were a princess or in my basement pretending you were looking for treasure. You've grown up so, much Vicky, but, don't forget. You can still be anything you want to be. Have confidence in yourself and you will find your path. Sometimes it's just not quite as obvious. When you know what specialty you want, you'll know."

"Thanks Gran, I really can't talk about this sort of thing with my parents since my mum wanted me to be a banker type anyways. I'm glad that you at least want me to be a healer. I've been obsessing over this and I really needed someone to talk to. All my friends just want to talk about their weddings and their boyfriends."

"Anytime Vicky, darling," said Andromeda with a sweet smile. "It must be hard with Elaine and Sarah both engaged. Are you still not seeing anyone?"

"No," replied Victoire somewhat dejectedly as she thought of Teddy, hundreds of miles away. She didn't notice the way Andromeda's eyes twinkled but she decided that her love life was one thing she didn't really want to talk about with Teddy's Gran. She had better leave. "Well, it was really nice to see you, but I have a big test tomorrow over how to heal a splinch, and I really had better review my notes. I'll see you later Gran, thanks for the talk." Victoire stood, setting her empty tea cup on the tray and slipping an extra cookie in her robe pocket hoping that Gran wouldn't notice. Hugging the old woman who had helped raise her, she let herself be led to the door before apparating home.

* * *

Two weeks later, Victoire frowned into the mirror. Turning she evaluated herself in the long panel on the back of the door. The dress had an excellent line to it, flawless really in showing off her wonderful veela figure. It was a strapless dress that showed off her collarbones and arms. It hugged her upper body and cinched at the waist with a thick white bow wrapping around her stomach before flaring out into a flowy skirt that didn't poof too much or fall to limply and reached her knees. The dress's shape really was perfect and the elbow length white gloves dressed it up to perfection along with the white strappy shoes she was wearing. However, the color was not one a veela like her should ever wear.

With her silvery blond hair and pale porcelain skin, the pale yellow of the dress washed her out entirely. White had never been Victoire's best color as she was already pale, and this outfit had quite a bit of white and a pale yellow. She looked like a pale yellow, silvery yellow, pale beige skin, and white blob. There was no vibrance to her appearance, even her red lips, pink cheeks, and bright blue eyes could add to the overall drabness of the ensemble.

"Come out Toire! I want to see how you look next to Elaine, Shishi, and my sister!" exclaimed the impatient bride. Toire sighed and opened the door reluctantly putting on a face of complacency as not to upset Sarah who had picked out these dresses. Victoire looked at ShiShi who looked amazing with the pale dress setting off her tan, and at Elaine who also had a bit more color to her natural completion that set off the drab colors of the dress.

"Oh! It fits perfect! I'm so glad we don't have to do any more fittings! You look amazing! I love it! My wedding will be absolutely perfect!" exclaimed Sarah who was tearing up at the wonderfulness of it all.

"Yes, and everything looked good yesterday at the guys' fitting. I thought the yellow vest and the green cravat looked great with the white robes for Frank and the yellow robes and green vests and white cravats for the rest of the groomsmen too," said Elaine who as maid of honor had to assure Sarah that the wedding was wonderful. Victoire had thought the yellow robes looked a bit ridiculous on the guys, but Sarah didn't want any harsh black on her wedding day. She was a bit odd saying it was a mourning color. Whatever flies your broom.

"Yes, except for that Teddy Lupin, honestly, can't show up until the day before the wedding, what are we going to do if the robes don't fit him!?" exclaimed Sarah getting back to the argument from the day before.

"Well, I am fairly sure about his measurements, his grandmother herself gave them to me, and I know that he recently had new robes made in the same measurements and they fit superbly. Besides, he's a metamorphagus and he can morph his body so they fit!" exclaimed Victoire, a bit annoyed with Sarah, but not wanting to show it.

"Yes, yes, anyways, I need you to come to the flower shop with me tomorrow, we're specifying the exact flowers for everything, and you were always so good at herbology. I already know I want the bridesmaids carrying all green bouquets, and I'll carry greenery and yellow tulips, but I just want everything perfect!" said Sarah clasping her hands and looking excitedly at her friend while ignoring the cutting remark about the metamorphagus skills of Teddy Lupin.

"Yes, well I really need to study for a test coming up on what to do for Dragon Bites and Burns, so I had better get out of this dress and get going, right Ellie, ShiShi?" said Victoire, quite annoyed with the ulgy dress. It made her feel ugly and Veelas were not UGLY!

Ten minutes later, ShiShi had abandoned them to go out for dinner with a _friend_, and Victoire and Elaine were walking home for the robe shop they had been at in Diagon Alley. "Tor, I know it's not my place to say, but really don't take it out on Sarah that you don't like the dress she picked out."

"I know, I was just a little disappointed, you, ShiShi, and Mandy looked great in the dresses. I looked like a washed out wallflower!" said Victoire unhappily.

"No, you er… didn't," said Elaine in a very unconvincing manner.

"YES! I DID! You aren't a good liar, Ellie. And Teddy won't have seen me all summer, and then he's going to see me in that horrid, monstrosity, and that's how he'll remember me the entire time he's gone!" whined Victoire.

"Okay, so it was kind of bad. But, really you should take it as a compliment. What sane woman would want a beautiful part Veela like you standing next to her during her wedding, the one day when she should by all rights be the most radiantly beautiful woman in the room? Honestly, Sarah was being a bit clever when she picked your worst color. You are so beautiful, she wanted to make sure no one was staring dumbstruck at the veela during the wedding. Besides, Teddy knows how beautiful you are already. He won't even notice the dress washes you out a bit."

"A bit! It ruins my appearance! And really, I just wanted to look nicer than usual, dress up so he sees me more beautiful than ever and then realizes his undying love for me!" moaned Victoire, still upset.

"Tell you what, at my wedding, I'll make sure he's knocked off his feet. He won't know what hit him. It will be the most beautiful bloody dress you've ever worn," promised Elaine.

"Thanks El, I knew at least one of my friends wouldn't be scared to stand next to a beautiful woman like myself," joked Toire.

"Yeah, and I'm marrying your cousin, so I won't have to worry about the groom even looking twice at you!" laughed Elaine as they got home.

"Yeah, and Ellie, you are also amazingly beautiful yourself, honestly, are you sure you aren't part veela or enchantress or something? Really, those eyes of yours! I'm sure not even a full blooded veela could outshine you on your wedding day."

Elaine looked at Victoire sentimentally and then gave her a hug. "Thanks Tor, you're a sweetie! No wonder you're going to be my maid of honor!"

"WHAT! I'M YOUR MAID OF HONOR!?" exclaimed Victoire excitedly.

"Duh, you're my roommate and best friend, plus you're just overall amazing. Why wouldn't you be? Besides, you're James' cousin and he loves you just as much as I do!" answered Ellie grinning as her friend absorbed the news. "So I take it that you accept the position?"

"BLOODY HELL YES!"

**REVIEW! Okay, had to say that first, but I'm sorry this chapter's a little short, but I think I can post the next chapter sometime this weekend if I try. In fact, if I get five reviews I'll post it by tomorrow. As soon as I get five I should post it. That would make the review total 14 btw. Five for this chapter. Anyways, hope you like it and the next chap should be Sarah's wedding. PLEASE REVIEW**

**Ellie**


	4. The First Wedding

_Sarah Jane Albright  
and  
Frank Vincent Weber  
request the honor of your presence  
at their marriage  
on Saturday, the eighteenth of August  
two thousand and eighteen  
at two o'clock  
Cathedral of St. Thomas  
751 Rowena Road  
Hogsmeade, Scotland_

Teddy adjusted his green cravat in the mirror. The robes fit beautifully, which was lucky considering he had returned to England only the day before and had spent the majority of his day as Edward and checking in with the boss. Mr. Pacino hadn't had any complaints for him, and Teddy was happy with how his job was going. He really enjoyed the daily challenge of breaking curses to delve deeper into the mysterious old caverns of the ancient wizarding complex. He also didn't mind the spying he got to do on the side, sneaking into offices, following suspicious persons, investigating what type of studies were being done. And on top of that, he was translating the werewolf legend for himself during his free time. So far, he was amazed at the detail of the legend, and he knew his werewolf legends. This one even named the first werewolf by name and gave a family lineage.

"Almost done Ted?" called Frank. The man was a bundle of nerves. The rest of the groomsmen were Ravenclaws, but Teddy had worked closely with Frank on the school paper and their interest in quidditch while they had never played for a house team had brought them close. They had also studied together quite a bit.

"Yup," said Teddy coming out wondering how Frank had been talked into the unappealing yellow robes that Teddy was wearing and then the white ones that actually looked good on Frank. "So, you're going to be great, channel the Gryffindor in you and enjoy this. It's not every day a wizard gets married."

"Yeah, I'm a bit nervous. But, you know, Sarah's it, she's the sun to my moon, the light to my dark, the antidote to my poison, the counter curse to my spell! She's.."

"Yeah Frank, we get the picture! While Ted here hasn't been present for the days leading up to this wedding, we've had to listen to you moon over Sarah for bloody weeks. Merlin, I'll be glad when this is over, and you'll be gone on your honeymoon being sickeningly in love far away from ME," interrupted David Lee, Frank's best man.

"You're just being a prat because this is a big day for you too!" retorted Frank. He turned to Teddy and explained, "He's been secretly seeing Yang for months now, and not even Sarah knows they are seeing each other, but they decided to go public today, and Dave wants to take it a step further. Instead of merely letting it out that they are seriously seeing each other, he's proposing!"

"Wow, gutsy move right there, you sure you weren't a Gryffindor?" laughed Teddy while at the same time wishing he had the courage to even ask the girl he had loved for years out on a date.

"Guys! We need you, the wedding is going to start in about fifteen minutes! Places!" exclaimed Elaine popping her head in the room. Teddy noticed she was wearing the pale yellow color that the men were wearing, and she looked quite nice in the dress. Her hair was pinned up in a curly mass on her head, and she was carrying a big green bouquet of evergreen leaves, and other greenery mixed with some baby's breath. James would be acting lovesick.

* * *

In no time at all, the bridesmaids were filing down the isle. The first to come, was Mandy, Sarah's younger sister who was either a fifth or sixth year, Teddy couldn't remember. Next, ShiShi, and Teddy watched Dave stand a little straighter as his girlfriend stepped into view, looking lovely. Next was Victoire, Teddy held his breath in anticipation and grinned when she appeared. Her shiny hair was done beautifully in big curls that were pinned up similar to Elaine's. Her smile showed off her perfect white teeth, and her bright blue eyes were glowing in her pretty face.

In all honesty, Teddy didn't even notice the dress, he was so enthralled to see his friend and crush again after weeks away from her. He had missed her so much. He had secretly taken to putting her letters under his pillow just because they smelled slightly of her, and then he could pull them out at any time and look at her delicate script and reread the finally lines over and over and over. _Love, Vic _or better yet _All my love be with you, Vic. _

He watched her walk down the isle and barely registered when Sarah began her procession down the isle. She looked beautiful, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Hopefully she wasn't trying to use his veela charm and that was why he was so enthralled with her, nope, no one else around him was staring at Vic. Just him.

Finally decided to try to concentrate on the ceremony, the rest of the wedding went quickly and without a hitch. Unless you counted Dave almost forgetting to give Frank the rings because he was staring at ShiShi. Apparently he had a problem too. Anyways, Teddy nudged him, and he jumped into action, presenting the rings with a sheepish grin.

Finally, after Frank and Sarah had said a heartwarming "I do," to each other, the priest pronounced them husband and wife, sending them down the isle while the wedding guests shot bubbles and confetti at them with their wands as they passed. Teddy grinned as he suddenly realized what that meant. Elaine and Dave linked arms and followed which meant that he and Vic were paired up for the march back down the isle.

Relishing the feel of her gloved hand resting on his arm, he grinned like a madman as he escorted her down the isle so they could go get pictures. Looking over at her, he smiled to see her looking back. "Missed you," he said with a smile.

"Missed you more," she smirked.

"I'll make it up to you?" he asked knowing he would do anything to make up for lost time.

"We'll make the most of this wedding," she agreed.

"Who's your date?" he asked, already dreading her answer.

"Couldn't find one," she said somewhat miserably. She had been a bit disappointed when she had been unable to obtain a date for the wedding, she had been given adequate time, but she kept comparing every possible date to Teddy and none measured up. "It's no big deal, how about you? Bring a foreign friend?"

"Nah, I'm too busy to be dating anyone in Egypt. Besides, I don't speak the language," replied Teddy out of the corner of his mouth as they reached the end of the isle and headed off to take pictures.

* * *

Almost an hour later, they were finally on their way to the reception after all the pictures and formalities that had to be taken care of at the Church. When they arrived, the wedding party was announced first and then Sarah and Frank Weber were presented for the first time. Everyone once again shot bubbles and such at the couple as they headed to the high table where the wedding party was seated. The food was delicious. During dinner, Teddy and Victoire, who had sat together, chatted and caught up with each other, filling in where letters had fallen short.

Before long, Sarah and Frank were spinning around the floor in their first dance as a husband and wife, and after that, the reception really went into full swing. Firewiskey, vodka, butterbeer, muggle beer, wine, mead, and any other alcoholic drink was provided, and some people were getting a bit tipsy. However, Teddy and Victoire knew better than to get drunk. They were both a little crazy when they did, although that was one thing they didn't know about each other.

"Look at that snot nosed slytherin over there," said Vic, looking across the room at a darkly beautiful woman who was standing next to a large ice sculpture of a castle. She was wearing a set of black robes that looked absolutely beautiful and a pair of high heels. She was dark haired with pale skin and bright blue eyes that could be spotted a mile away. She was beautiful but all of the men were hanging back from her, afraid to approach and ask her for a dance.

"Yeah, she looks about as a cold as the ice sculpture," commented Teddy looking up from the second dinner he had filched from the kitchens.

"Let's play a game!" exclaimed Victoire who was a bit bored, being that all of her friends were dancing enthusiastically with their boyfriends or the other groomsmen. David Lee was all over ShiShi. Victoire might have something to say about appropriate dancing to her later. In any case, Elaine was laughing hysterically as James took her around the dance floor, doing outrageous dance moves, and Sarah was lost entirely to Frank. After all, it was her wedding.

"But this food is so delicious!" laughed Teddy pointing to the plate of English food he had missed while in Cairo. Honestly, they just didn't cook like Grandma Weasley in Egypt, or like the Hogwarts House Elves for that matter.

"Oh, you have all weekend to pig out on English food," scolded Victoire with mock seriousness. "Now, let's play 'have you seen my mama?'" she said with a sly grin.

"Oh Merlin! I remember that game!" he laughed.

* * *

He had been six, she had been five. It was uncle Percy's wedding, and Uncle George had come up with the brilliant idea. He had helped too. It had been absolutely hilarious. Uncle Percy's wedding had been full of horrid stuffy ministry workers, and Uncle George had found the absolute most unpleasant of them all. This had resulted in the creation of a game that would provide Uncle George with pure entertainment and torture the horrible woman.

"Go up to that lady over there, and bug her. Ask her if she knows where your mama is," Uncle George had directed Teddy. Uncle George and Vic had watched laughing as the ugly lady had looked around and said she didn't know, but had obviously been annoyed by Teddy. Teddy had reported back to Uncle George who had been laughing hysterically at how the woman had reacted, uncomfortable and almost scared of the small child.

"Now, let's transfigure your robes a different color and make you look like a cute little redhead," suggested Uncle George. "Go bug her again, say something like, I lost my mum, can you help me find the little boys room?"

"But I know where the bathroom is Uncle George, this is Grandma Weasley's house!" Teddy had explained.

"But it will be funny!" Uncle George had explained. And it had. The woman had been quite embarrassed and had tried to help him find the bathroom. Then he had returned to uncle George who had transfigured his clothes again, and Teddy had changed his appearance and gone to ask the woman to help him get some food, and then again later a different boy approached the woman when he needed a drink, and then another one needed help finding his mum who was Angelina, and another help finding his sister who was Victoire. It had been absolutely hilarious to see the woman get frustrated with the children who were approaching her, and she had finally just left early in a huff, complaining about being a children magnet and how much she hated children.

Uncle George and the other Uncles who had joined in on the prank had laughed and laughed about how much they hated that_ Toad_ and that she got what she deserved. Teddy had later learned the horrible hideous woman was Dolores Umbridge who had tortured his Godfather, Uncle George, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, and all of the family while at Hogwarts. Apparently she was bad news and hated children. However, they had gotten her back a bit with the funny little trick.

After that wedding, at almost every occasion that the opportunity presented itself, Teddy had played the "have you seen my mama?' game. Victoire always was happy to help. As he had gotten older, it had morphed a bit. He didn't ask where his mama was, but instead kept crashing into someone, or running by and screeching in their ear. Sometimes he would spill something on someone. Basically, he tortured some unfortunate guest. However, it had been years since they had played, perhaps since their very early years at Hogwarts.

* * *

"How do you propose I do that? Do I just go up to her and say, have you seen my mum?" laughed Teddy referring to the "slytherin snot" that Vic had pointed out earlier.

"No, that ice queen is 'Princess Ophelia', she was a year ahead of us, Slytherin, stuck up snob. She's related to the Zambinis, pure blood to the extreme, a bit old fashioned. She thinks she's better than everyone else," answered Victoire. "I want you to go up and ask her out! Or at least to dance. However, she can't know you're a pure blood at all! She probably studies the old families, there is a book that comes out every few years with pictures of all the pure bloods in it. You can't look like a pure blood. So, go ask her out, errr… Dan."

"No, no way am I asking this girl out, she'll bite my head off!" declared Teddy. "Besides, what if she says yes?"

"Errr…" Victoire hadn't thought that far. "You'll have a hot date for the next wedding you go to."

"I don't know how to tell you this, but she's not my type," answered Ted, not knowing that this made Victoire very, very happy.

"Then you'll just stand her up." She didn't want Teddy actually going out on a date with that woman. However, if long legs, luscious dark hair, bright blue eyes, perfect skin, teeth, and nose wasn't his type, what was?

"Okay, fine, hopefully this is entertaining," laughed Teddy nervously. Sometimes being a metamorphmagus had its upside, and he usually found it entertaining to trick people and play pranks with his ability.

Teddy approached Ophelia Rossi with Gryffindor courage. He had decided the first man to ask her to dance should be relatively good looking, and Vic had transfigured his robes into some fairly nice ones.

"Hiya Missy," he said in his Yankee Accent. Perfect, purebloods hate Americans sometimes. Stuck ups. He smoothed back his dark brown hair that was relatively short and stuck out his calloused hand. He was going to pretend to be a thestral rancher if they got to talking. Somehow he didn't think they would.

"Good Evening," she said stiffly, lofting her nose into the air as if she had smelled something atrocious.

"What's your name pretty lady?" he asked with a wink.

"Excuse me!" she said quite loudly. "Are you hitting on me?!"

"Maybe," said Teddy sheepishly in his overly deep voice, making himself blush a bit.

"Witches with asses like mine, do not talk to wizards with faces like yours!" she snapped and twirled on her heel, marching off toward the bathroom. Teddy stared blankly at her and then burst out laughing as Victoire who was also laughing approached him and joined him on the floor next to the ice sculpture.

"That, was, priceless," she panted out between laughs. "Let's do that again!"

"Hurry, we better go somewhere else, before she gets back from her fit. What did you think of the American accent?"

"Amazingly sexy, don't know how she didn't fall for it," laughed Victoire. "Let's actually have an unattractive guy this time, then it really will be true that witches with asses like hers don't talk to wizards with faces like yours!"

Soon, Ophelia had returned, and they were once again hiding. Teddy transformed his face into something quite unattractive that even had Victoire looking at with slight disgust. He knew it wasn't pretty at all, rather pig like. However, she had made his robes scream wealth. He looked like a ridiculously wealthy yet horribly ugly wizard.

He had made his voice incredibly deep and charming for this encounter, and when he approached Ophelia, he noticed that she was visibly recoiling from him. He smirked inwardly.

"Hello, I'm Vern," he said introducing himself in his well bred and charming voice. His mere voice oozed pure blood.

"Charmed," she said awkwardly taking his hand when she clearly didn't want to.

"Ophelia right? Ophelia Rossi?" he asked pretending not to know her name for sure.

"Yes, why yes I _am _Ophelia Rossi, famed fashion model and pureblood heiress," she said as if to say, 'if you know who I am, why are you bothering?'

"Well, Ophelia Rossi, famed fashion model and pureblood heiress, what would you say to a dance?"

"Eww, no!" she said unable to keep the disgust out of her voice.

"Why not?" he said charmingly.

"I'm _me _and you're _you_, that's reason enough, buddy," she said snootily.

"My name's Vern, and I may not be the best looking guy here, but I'm the only one talking to you," he said turning away with a slight smirk on his face as if her rejection hadn't hurt in the least; which it hadn't. It had been merely entertaining. Her face registered shock, but she let him walk away. Teddy and Victoire laughed for about ten minutes under the main table.

"Alright, now, I want you to look unbelievably handsome! Make yourself godlike, but I'll make your robes look like you're poor. Poor boy with the pretty face!" laughed Victoire waving her wand. "Let's see how she reacts to this."

"You mean I'm not already godlike handsome?" joked Teddy in mock offense. However, he was surprised by the face Vic made. She looked like she had swallowed a frog. He thought she must really think of him like a really ugly friend or a brother who didn't have an appearance.

"I didn't mean it like that, just erm… look like a different sexy god?" she said uncomfortably. She didn't want Teddy to think she thought he was unattractive.

"Ok, how's this?" he asked transforming his face into a veela like visage. Incredibly handsome, but the shabby robes off set it barely enough to be noticeable. Perfect. Teddy approached the intimidating Ophelia with a friendly grin. As she saw him walking toward her, she smiled a bit before her eyes flicked to his robes and she pursed her lips.

"Hi, I'm Dan," he said introducing himself, something he hadn't tried yet.

"Ophelia, Ophelia Rossi," she said with a tight smile.

"Would you care to dance, Miss Rossi," he said cordially.

"No thank you," she said unable to keep the contempt out of her voice as she rejected him. Obviously she thought that although he was handsome, he was beneath her socially due to his apparent lack of wealth.

"Don't thank me, thank Merlin somebody asked you," retorted Teddy, once again jabbing her before leaving.

"Excuse me! Are you implying that I am unable to attract a decent good looking, pureblooded, affluent male?" she asked, quite rudely with an emphasis on affluent.

"Well, hey, you can't be that picky, I know I wasn't," he said trying not to laugh before he had gotten all the way back to Victoire and turned his back to Ophelia. Once again, the two long time friends laughed hysterically over the rejection before planning another attack on the woman. Deciding the next man should just be very sleezy, they dressed Teddy in average robes and gave him the appearance of a used cauldron seller.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked tapping Ophelia on the shoulder, causing her to whirl around and look at him.

"No, I'm staying sober tonight, but I will take the fifteen sickles," she quipped back with a smirk. Maybe she was flirting with him.

"How about a dance instead then?"

"I don't like this song, but even if I did, I wouldn't dance with you," she shot back. Obviously she wasn't flirting, that was just rudeness.

Teddy grinned, thinking of a comeback that Toire had suggested. "I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce."

"URGGGG!" she exclaimed storming off in the other direction while Teddy was left to laugh at her retreating back with Victoire who had once again appeared at his side. They were enjoying this altogether too much.

"Okay, okay, once more and we're done," laughed Victoire finally settling down. "This time, we're going for weird, I vote you have a nose ring or something, crazy hair, I'll make your robes ridiculous!" She transformed them into bright orange and purple while he made his hair green and spikey while he changed the pigments in his skin to have a tattoo on his neck. He didn't have the heart to tell Vic that he couldn't make a nose ring with his skills_._

He approached the ice queen who was now drinking a strong drink and looking very pissed off.

"Hey," he said with a slight wave while she looked at him with angry eyes and looked about ready to storm away. "Do you mind if I stare at you up close instead of from across the room?"

"What am I? Flypaper for freaks?" she exclaimed before rushing away. Teddy and Vic laughed for the rest of the night and entertained themselves by reliving the different incidents with "princess Ophelia".

* * *

It was late in the evening, and they were sitting, enjoying yet another piece of cake, when suddenly David Lee was up next to the band and making an announcement.

"Hi, everyone," he said nervously. "I have a bit of announcement. Not many of you know, in fact no one but our families really know, but I've been seeing this beautiful, intelligent, amazing witch for the past seven months. Until we were sure if this would work out, we wanted to keep it quiet, but now, we wanted to let everyone know, and well, you're all here. How Convenient," he attempted a joke before continuing. "If ShiShi May Yang would come up here please," he said, causing Victoire to look surprised and glance around at her other friends to see who knew.

They were all surprised. Elaine's mouth was hanging open and Sarah was looking angry at Frank who obviously had known. ShiShi herself looked a bit stunned at what David was doing, but went up to the stage anyways, giving a nervous wave at the crowd. "ShiShi has been the light of my life since I met her, and I honestly couldn't imagine living without her. She is the absolute most amazing woman I've ever met, and I wanted to take this opportunity to ask her something," he said addressing the crowd. Turning to ShiShi and dropping onto his knee, he smiled nervously as he held out a small box and said, "Shish, will you marry me?"

ShiShi's eyes got wide, and her face looked entirely shocked. There was a pregnant pause. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN! SAY YES! IF THIS IS WHO YOU'VE BEEN MOONING OVER AND SNEAKING AROUND WITH SAY BLOODY YES!" shouted Sarah who was a bit tipsy. Suddenly ShiShi regained her composure and broke out in a smile.

"Yes," she whispered so low that no one but David could hear her, but it was obvious to the crowd what she had said. Everyone was clapping as David stood up and placed the ring on her finger while she cried and hugged him, looking quite happy. Mr. and Mrs. Yang joined them on the stage, and ShiShi seemed to be accusing her mother of not warning her while David and Mr. Yang were talking quietly. Obviously, they were some of the few that weren't shocked.

Victoire pulled Teddy toward the stage, wanting to be one of the first to talk to her friend. She was in total shock. Of course she had known toward the end of their seventh year that Dave and ShiShi were friends, and talked a lot, and that ShiShi had a major major crush on him, but she hadn't heard a word about him since graduation. In fact, all she had known was that ShiShi regularly disappeared with some unknown guy or guys. Apparently it had been Dave all along.

"Wow, didn't know you had it in you," said Teddy as they reached the happy couple. "That was Gryffindor courage right there."

"Thanks Ted. What you implied earlier about me being a wimpy ravenclaw who hides behind books really gave me the needed nudge to do it," replied Dave who seemed to be sweating a bit as they got close enough to see him in detail. Teddy didn't have the heart to tell Dave he had never said that so nodded and smiled.

"OMM! SHISHI WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!?" exclaimed Victoire taking her friend by the shoulders and shaking her.

"Er, well, we wanted to make sure we were serious, and it worked before we told everyone. We didn't want to make a big deal out of it… and then it was nice not to have the pressure of everyone knowing we were dating."

"OMM!" exclaimed Elaine rushing over and hugging Shishi. "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED! AHHH!!!! ANOTHER WEDDING TO PLAN! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU'VE BEEN DATING THE GUY YOU MOONED OVER FOR YEARS AND DIDN'T TELL US!" Sarah was soon over there shrieking with Ellie about the development while Victoire stood shell shocked.

ShiShi was assuring them that she was entirely in love with Dave and that she was so happy yet surprised he had proposed, she merely thought they were announcing to everyone that they were dating, and he had proposed instead. It was obvious she was happy and loved Dave very much.

Victoire however, was unable to join in the celebrations all of a sudden. Suddenly, she realized exactly what this meant. ShiShi was moving in with her and Elaine this week, after all, Sarah was moving out and getting a small house with Frank. When Ellie got married in December, ShiShi and Victoire would share the flat. Now, she would be all alone when ShiShi got married. All of her friends, all of them, would be wrapped up in weddings, and then husbands, and then babies, and then they would be sending their children off to Hogwarts and then having more babies, and being all married and happy and she wouldn't! She shook herself. She was getting just a bit ahead of herself. After all, it wasn't that bad. Yet.

* * *

A little later, Sarah and Frank left for their honeymoon in a special ministry cab that would take them to the Floo Port. They were going to Hawaii, over halfway across the world, and would be gone for two weeks. Everyone cheered for them and waved as they drove away. Heading back inside, the party was winding down as everyone headed out on the floor for a few last dances or gathered their belongings to leave.

Victoire who was still a little upset about the announcement of Dave and ShiShi's engagement searched for her shoes while Teddy waited to walk her home. He had offered, and she wasn't about to say no. After all, she had liked him since maybe fourth year. Okay, so perhaps it might have been longer, but she hadn't wanted to admit she was in love with someone who was practically her brother.

"Do you want to dance the last dance?" asked Teddy who was surprised that Vic hadn't danced all night. Usually she was a bit of a dancer. However, sometimes he knew that she didn't like to because being part veela made it a little awkward for her. Vic looked around and realizing that not many were left, it would be fine to dance the last dance, it was a slow song anyways. She loved dancing and hadn't barely stepped on the floor all night.

As they danced to the old Cecilia Warback tune, Teddy tried to remember everything about that moment as he held Victoire close, the smell of her perfume, the touch of her hand on his shoulder, the feel of her hand in his as they twirled, but most of all, the smile in her tired yet beautiful eyes. He wouldn't be able to see her, let alone hold her this close for quite a while. He just wanted to imprint this moment on his memory. Little did he know she would be doing the same.

He walked her to her apartment on the pretense of merely making sure she got home safe. When he reached her door after the pleasant walk where they had chatted lightly, he said goodbye, both knowing they wouldn't see each other for a while. She had hugged him, and he had attempted to breathe in as much of her scent as possible before parting and had watched her close the door before apparating back to the Shrieking Shack.

As she closed the door behind her, Victoire pulled the pale chain that disappeared below the neckline of her dress to reveal the locket that hung from it. Holding the jewelry in her hand, letting her palm warm the metal, she smiled. As much as she could miss Teddy all summer, seeing him tonight had been so much better because of it. Now if only she never had to be miserable and miss him again.

**So, Grace didn't Beta this because she was visiting our Aunt. Sorry for errors... However, you wrote 5 reviews! Thank YOU!!!! AHH AMAZING!!! Please do send me more!!!! I don't know when I'll update next, but perhaps next Thurs! Hopefully maybe! More reviews will deff inspire me though! BTW one of the lines from the scene with Ophelia was from She's the Man= GREAT MOVIE! Lol! Sorry, can't claim it as my own, or any of rowling's stuff either! If I have ten reviews(24) by Thurs I will _definitely_ update, promise!! Happy Easter!**

**Ellie**

**P.s.-**

**Angelpris- I suck at spelling and I often do stupid things, one reviewer pointed out recently I said ancient ruins instead of ancient runes… embarrassing.. so thanks for telling me about metamorphmagus… lol!**

**AuthorAngel14- thanks for the HAREs- they stand for something clever too! Healer Accreditation Rigorous Exams. Aurors take CATs- Cumulative Auror Tests… yeah! **

**RobinJay- Thanks! This is a little more original and more spy stuff later!**

**Not Hopeless Anymore- no fight yet, or one for sure, but something that obviously happens… you'll see.. but you're on the right track! Lol!**


	5. Tea Times

I'm super sorry for the long time on the update because I had some major business to do. I'm sooo sorry but this chapter is 8,000+ words so... longest one yet. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!! THANKS!!!

* * *

Victoire stirred the potion for Mrs. King slowly. The elderly woman had a bad case of the scales, which was basically dragon pox in old age. Vic had grown to like the elderly woman who was actually the great grandmother of one of her classmates at Hogwarts. The old woman was already 150 years old, which was old even by wizard standards. Mrs. King had an endless supply of funny stories to tell Victoire while Victoire took care of the ailing woman.

Victoire had been assigned to the Magical Bugs floor for two weeks with Healer Banks and actually liked it. Besides Mrs. King, there were several other patients she really enjoyed working with. There was a six year old who had Dragon pox, and a third year Gryffindor girl who knew her brother Louis and had Fairy Fever. Madame Strout had sent her to the hospital to keep the contagious sickness from spreading, and there was a man in his early thirties with vanishing sickness.

The little boy with Dragon Pox, Robbie, was highly contagious to anyone who hadn't had the disease already, which included his family, many of the hospital workers, and all of his friends. Therefore he was pretty lonely. However, he was the reason that Victoire had been assigned to this floor for so long. She was one of the only trainees who had had dragon pox as a child and could therefore care for the boy and be a companion to him. They spent time together reading books, playing games, and keeping him from being too lonely. He was a super sweet child. The only problem with him was his inability to pronounce her name, therefore causing him to shorten it to "Vic". Only one person called her that, and she didn't exactly like being reminded of him although he was never far from her thoughts.

Victoire pushed these thoughts away as she finished the potion and measured it carefully into dosages for Mrs. King. She had just finished capping her final one when Healer Banks arrived.

"Miss Weasley, do you mind if I check your potion?" she asked with a pretense of politeness. She would check the potion whether Victoire minded or not. Victoire shrugged her shoulders and the healer uncapped one of the vials and sniffed it gingerly. Going to the cabinet she pulled out a box and took a small piece of paper out of a little compartment in the box. A potion tester. If the paper was clear when it came out, the potion was perfect. Any variety of colors showed the degree that the potion was off. Victoire smiled when the paper came out entirely clear. "Excellent Miss Weasley! This is one of the best Scale Solutions I've seen. I don't think I could have done it any better, in fact mine often come with little white dots on the clearness of my PT. Good job, you are an excellent potioneer, Nelson will hear about this!"

"Thank you Healer Banks," said a surprised Victoire. She immediately went about going to Mrs. King's room and administrating the potion and then headed to the locker room where she changed. She never had classes on Thursday afternoons, and so she was free for the day. Putting her work robes and scrubs in her bag, she put on her usual Thursday afternoon type attire, a nice skirt and a dressy top. Fluffing up her hair, she headed out of the hospital, hoping she wouldn't be late but knowing she had twenty minutes until one o'clock.

Just as she was walking out of the building, she felt a cold hand grasp her heart as she heard someone calling her name. Turning to see who it was, she saw Andi Burnsworth in the lobby.

"Victoire! VICTOIRE WEASLEY!" exclaimed Andi, decked out in bright pink robes with a purple button up shirt under them and a black pencil skirt and vividly purple heels. Victoire didn't know how someone could look so nice, but somehow Andi always looked like a model in her vivid clothes that always included pink. "I was just coming in to look for you!" she said reaching Victoire after clacking across the lobby in her loud heels.

"Hi Andi, how are you?" said Victoire, hoping that this wouldn't take long.

"Oh, I'm just wonderful! I have the greatest news, but my do you look nice, that's a very pretty skirt, love the pink flowers on it, and isn't that lace on your shirt darling! Is this a bad time?" asked Andi, just bubbling.

"Well, I was headed to the apparation point, but if you wanted to come with me, I could talk to you on the way and then wait to Apparate," said Victoire pulling out her watch that she had received for her seventeenth birthday. "How have you been, I haven't seen you since Sarah's wedding! They are due back from their honeymoon soon, but she's been sending me the most wonderful letters about Hawaii! I have half a mind to visit it next winter when the weather gets bad and I need some sunshine. Apparently that's all there is in Hawaii!"

"Oh, how wonderful! But, all that wedding business brings to mind why I hunted you down today! Kendrick proposed!" she squealed holding out a huge princess cut diamond surrounded by about a dozen small pink gems on a silver band. Waving her pink manicured fingers in front of Victoire, she continued, "It was so romantic, we went on a romantic weekend to France, and he took me to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and then he charmed all the lights on the tower pink and asked me to marry him under the most beautiful rose colored glow imaginable."

"How scenic," commented Victoire thinking of the gaudiness of the scene and what the muggles must have thought. What a wonderful mess for the French Ministry to clean up.

"Oh, it was, and now we're getting married on September 22! And Tanya is going to be my Maid of Honor and I think that Kendrick is going to have David Lee, Michael Paladoris, and Travis Thicknesse as his groomsmen, Travis is going to be his best man, be prepared for a drunken speech! But, I wanted to have you as one of my bridesmaids! We got to be such good friends in sixth year and you'll look absolutely fabulous in the colors of the wedding that I've picked!"

"Oh, well I'm so honored! Thank you so much for asking me Andi! I would love to be in your wedding!" exclaimed Victoire who hadn't expected this in the least.

"Perfect! You and Jessica, and Megan Green from Hufflepuff, and then Tanya. It will be perfect! But, since I have four bridesmaids, KenKen was always Prefect with your friend Teddy Lupin! And he's just perfect because he's a metamorphosis! And please! I'm begging you, write him and ask him to be in the wedding, KenKen already has, but just tell him to be in it! Right now he's acting as if he won't be able to make it, but I know he can be there! You're his friend, talk him into it! It won't be the same without him in the wedding!"

Victoire winced, Andi just had to bring _him_ up. Pretty soon she and Tanya would be the only single ladies in their group of friends left. Elaine was getting married December 29th, Sarah was happily married as of a week ago, and then ShiShi was planning her wedding for of all days, October 31st. That reminded her, ShiShi wanted her to be in her wedding too and they had a dress fitting next Tuesday. Hopefully they wouldn't be hideous. Now Andi was tying the knot too. What was the deal here?

"Of course I'll write Teddy, he'll be in the wedding."

"I knew you could talk him into it! After sixth year when you were partners, I know that he'll listen to you! He was the only one of his friends not to mess up his child's name after all! Honestly!"

"Well, just owl me with the details of the dress fittings and any help you need! I'm willing to help as much as I can, and the wedding is very soon isn't it? Thanks again Andi," said Victoire as they reached the apparation point. Giving her a hug, Victoire stepped away and turned on the spot.

* * *

Arriving on the familiar front step, Victoire smoothed the light cotton skirt and the silk blouse she was wearing before knocking. She was late, drat! However, the door swung open and there was Granny Dromeda.

"Vicky! I wondered if you were still coming!" she exclaimed pulling Victoire in for a hug. Victoire smiled and hugged her back.

"Sorry I'm late, a friend stopped by at work just as I was leaving, she wants me to be in her wedding."

"Really? How nice. How many of your friends are getting married now? Isn't that going to be three weddings you'll be in before the New Year?"

"Actually, it will be four weddings before New Years, Sarah's, ShiShi's, Andi's, and Elaine's," replied Victoire glumly as Mrs. Tonks led her into the parlor where the tea was waiting.

"Oh, my, my, my," said Granny Tonks as she handed Victoire a cup of tea on a saucer and a plate of biscuits. "Seems like all of your friends are getting married! Have you met any nice wizards lately that might be prospective husbands?" Victoire winced, sometimes it seemed as if the motherly figures in her life continually harped on her relationship status, or lack thereof.

"Nope, just enjoying being single for now," she replied tightly as she sipped her tea and winced, more sugar.

"I see, well, I'm sure you'll meet a nice wizard sometime. Perhaps when you're working you'll meet a devastatingly handsome auror who has been wounded in battle and as you care for him, you'll fall desperately in love with him as you tend to his bedside and then he'll heal and you'll marry and live happily ever after."

"I'm sure Gran," replied Toire secretly thinking that the older woman had read too many Dora Bobs novels lately. She grabbed another cookie hoping to think of some topic to change the conversation to while she stuffed her face making it hard to ask questions.

"Well, I have been very busy around here. I found an entire box of pictures of Tedders and you when you were young, and little Jamie too of course. And so I've been sorting them and putting them in albums. I'll have to get them out and show you! They are so wonderful! You look so cute! Your blond hair was always so pretty, you really should do more with it now. It's so pretty and silvery! My sister had the best hair like yours, it was perfectly blond, shiny, and never out of place. Of course it's white now, but that happens when you get old dear. Putting a little more effort into your appearance might help you find a wizard. You aren't getting any younger darling! I was just telling Tedders the same thing the other day in my letter to him. He says he's doing quite well though, told me all about his adventures as a curse breaker."

Andromeda paused and watched her young companion. That worried look on the part veela's face reminded Andromeda of another worried face. Victoire was holding the pale locket that Andromeda remembered well. She was even rubbing it in the same familiar manner. Dora had worn the same necklace and had fiddled with it constantly, just like Victoire did unconsciously, whenever Remus had been gone. When they had been separated on Order missions, poor Dora had worried herself silly and rubbed that locket to a shine between her nervous fingers. You could tell when Remus was gone by the way that the locket was being worn. Andromeda smiled knowingly and changed the subject back to the weddings of Victoire's friends. What colors would they choose, and what the dresses might look like.

After about another hour, Victoire left, promising to return next week. Andromeda Tonk's knowing eyes followed her as she left, and then she once again turned back to the parlor to clean up the dishes. She loved Thursday afternoons.

Meanwhile, Victoire apparated back to her apartment to find Ellie and James in full out fight mode in the kitchen. Urg, she hated when they had petty fights. She was pretty sure they made up reasons to fight every other month so they could make up all over her sofa. Last month they had had a full blown fight over whether the floo network or apparation was safer. Victoire couldn't remember who had won, only that they had made out on her couch for three hours after. GROSS!

Going to her room, she started a letter to Teddy.

_Dear Ted,_

_Hope things in Egypt are going great for you! It's unbelievably lonely here in England without a friend to keep me from being the third wheel whenever James and Ellie are wrapped up in their lovey- dovey-ness. Honestly, they are about to be all over each other on my couch. I paid for that! Get off it! He's my cousin and she's my best friend, that just makes it so much more awkward!_

_In other news, I visited your Gran today. She seemed well, but she needs some new reading material. Those romance novels are frying her brain! Perhaps you might find a nice book and send it to her for her birthday, which in case you forgot is next week. I'm getting her a new set of dress robes that she can wear to James' wedding. They are fabulous and I'm sure she will love them. If you want, I could look for a pair of shoes and a matching hat and put your name on them. But, it might be nice if you picked something out yourself. It's more from the heart that way._

_Healer Training has been going well. I got some major compliments on my potion brewing skills today. I also have been having fun taking care of one of the younger patients. He is six and he has dragon pox, so only people who have had it before can be around him. He's the only one in his family who has ever had it, so he's lonely. So, I get to hang out with him during the day. Remember when we had dragon pox and we were stuck with James at your house for over three weeks so that Dom, Al, Lil, and Lou didn't get it? That was fun. As bad as that sounds, I liked having Dragon Pox! I've been teaching this little guy chess and we play exploding snap for hours. The little guy loves chocolate frog cards too, so I stop by Honeydukes and get him some frogs every few days. We got Uncle Ron the other day, and I got to tell him that I knew the guy on his card. He was so excited to hear all about Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, and Uncle Harry. I've been telling him the stories ever since. _

_However, today, just as I was leaving St. Mungo's today, I ran into Andi Burnsworth soon to be Wallace. She's marrying "KenKen" and she wants us to be in her wedding party. Please do it, I don't know why you don't want to, but if I have to be in that wedding with Andi who will be in all out pink mode, and Tanya who will probably want to babble in French with me, and then that airhead Megan Green and Jessica Burbanks who is just a bit too slytherin for me, I'll die! I need someone who can be normal! Honestly, I like them all, except Jessica, but they are a bit nutters! PLEASE!_

_Love,_

_Vic_

* * *

Two days later, Teddy's owl returned with the reply.

**Vic,**

**She wants me to morph my hair bleeding PINK! I don't do well with PINK hair. OR! PURPLE EYES! No, no thank you please! That's Bloody Ridiculous! But, since you asked so nicely, FINE! But only for you! AND! I won't wear my hair pink to the reception! That is where I draw the line. I'm doing this for you, not Andi or Kendrick. I wouldn't leave you alone with Tanya longer than I had to. She's the meaning of the word nutters.**

**I'll be there for the wedding then, just give Andi my measurements. Same as last time in case I can't make a fitting before the wedding. And, stay safe. Don't fall in love with any injured Aurors now. (I agree with you about the too many Dora Bobs books. I'll send her a practical one, but get her the hat and shoes from me anyways. I'll give them to her along with the book I'm going to send her. It's a collection of Egyptian legends and tales.) My gran told me though about how she thinks that would be the most romantic thing ever. Just remember most aurors are as cheeky as James and Sirius. I want a nice guy for you, no arrogant berks! (Don't tell James or Sirius. Or Elaine for that matter!)**

**Love,**

**Ted**

**P.S. Wipe the cheeky grin off your face! I'm only doing this because we're very good friends and you definitely owe me one for this! You don't always get your way. Bloody Pink Wedding!**

* * *

The next week, Victoire ended up having two dress fittings, luckily they were on different days. The first was on Monday with ShiShi. Walking into Grace's Georgeous Gowns, Victoire had a foreboding feeling. Somehow, she wasn't sure about how well this was going to go.

Upon seeing Sarah, tanned and glowing beautifully from her honeymoon, Victoire shrieked and hugged her friend. Sarah was the definition of marital bliss as she described the wonderful time that she and Frank had spent together on their honeymoon. Swimming with dolphins, flying into volcanoes, sailing together on a small rented yacht, it was all out of a Dora Bobs book.

Elaine arrived a few minutes late, looking as if she had lost track of time with James. Her usually perfect hair was a bit rumpled and her eyes a bit green for Victoire to ignore. They needed to get their own couch. In any case, when Elaine arrived, they were ready to being looking at the dresses that had been picked out.

"So this is the fabric sample," said ShiShi setting out a beautifully colored swatch. It was a reddish orange color that was entirely reminiscent of the fall theme of the wedding. It was almost a scarlet, but with more orange. Victoire liked the bright warm color immensely compared to the yellow color she had worn for Sarah's wedding. And Sarah and Elaine would look great in the color as well. "So this color with accents of black in the dress. Then, I will wear white with a big red sash, Chinese custom, and then I was thinking that the men could wear vests of similar color and perhaps orange shirts. Then, I was going to have you guys carry orange flowers. Then the colors will be red, orange, and this reddish orange. Perhaps some yellow accents! That would be great too. Just all fall colors. And then there will be leaves all around us and beautiful!"

"That sounds lovely," said Elaine. "Don't you think Sarah?" Elaine had once again been made Maid of Honor, and so she was trying to be the most reassuring and since Sarah had just been married her opinion seemed to count for more. Victoire scowled. Leaving her out of most conversations couldn't be intentional, but somehow that's how it felt lately. They talked about their fiancés/husbands, and then their weddings. She couldn't really join in as she didn't even have a boyfriend.

"Yes, let's have someone try it on then! Vic! Try it on!" said Sarah gesturing toward the changing room where the dress would be waiting. Sighing, Victoire marched to the room and then pulled the long dress over her head without really looking at it. Stepping out, she heard three gasps. Only one of those was a good one.

"Ohh! It looks amazing!" shrieked ShiShi dancing around her and pulling at the fabric. Victoire chanced a glance in the mirror after observing the horrified looks on Sarah and Elaine's faces. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she tried not to wince much. The dress was strapless and tight across her chest with a large black band under her bust, forming the empire waistline of the dress. After the dress cinched in, it poofed out dramatically about three feet in each direction before becoming small again near her feet. It created the dramatic effect of looking like a giant ball as the dress came way out and then back in making a round shape to the skirt. Victoire who had never looked fat a day in her life, felt like a whale on Andi's team. Just a reddish one, not pink.

"Yup, the color is definitely my favorite part though," commented Victoire. "It looks great with all of our complexions."

"Oh definitely! And, it would be so easy to alter it after the wedding and wear it again short!"

"Yeah, I could wear it to the Weasley Christmas!" commented Victoire. She would only ever be caught in this poufy contraption one time, her friends wedding. And, if she didn't like ShiShi so much she wouldn't even wear it then.

* * *

Thursday morning, James felt something tickling his face. Swatting his hand away the irritating object, he rolled over. "Wakey, wakey," he heard softly and he pulled his pillow over his head.

"Go away Teddy, lemme sleep ten more minutes. Prewitt loves me too much to give me a late," he groaned. "Ellie will gimme her notes."

"But does Swazi love you enough?" came the voice.

"BLOODY HELL!" exclaimed James, rocketing out of his bed which was not at Hogwarts, but rather the Shrieking Shack. Jumping up, James pulled open the doors to his wardrobe and grabbed a pair of black auror robes and a white work shirt, black pants, and a black tie. Reaching for his glasses he shoved the square frames on his face and then looked at the intruder in his bedroom. Tilting his head he asked, "Teddy, what are you doing here?"

"I'm home to report," answered the man who was sitting on James' recently vacated bed with a quill in his hand.

"Oh, but you were home two weeks ago for the wedding," said James scratching his head, still confused at his friend being here. "Scared the shit out of me, I'm not used to someone else waking me lately. I do all the waking now. Murphy sleeps like a sodding rock!"

"Yes, I know, but I asked if I could come this week, September first is Saturday. I wanted to see Al, Lils, Dom, Lou, Rosie, Hugo, and the rest off," replied Teddy.

"Oh, what time is it?" asked James running his hand through his messy hair.

"Almost seven, figured you could get up fifteen minutes early to say hi to a friend," answered Teddy, knowing that James usually got up at about seven. James nodded sleepily and went into the bathroom. Teddy shrugged and went to wake the other two.

* * *

That night Teddy sat in the living room of the Shrieking Shack, impressed with the improvements that had been made on the room. Murphy apparently had time between games and practices to do a bit of fixing up. He had repaired the staircase completely and had recarpeted the stairs and the family room. He had taken the chandelier to someplace in Diagon Alley and it now glistened from its chain that kept it hanging from the ceiling. The walls were still mutilated, but there was some new furniture, all reminiscent of the Gryffindor common room, comfy scarlet sofas and chairs around the fireplace. Opening his butterbeer, he smiled at the friends he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"You are so tan!" exclaimed James, still gawking at how much their friend had changed.

"Yeah, and when did you get so much taller?" said Orion. "Now I'm gonna be shortest!"

"I got measured for new robes today and I'm not officially taller yet, six foot two, just like you," said Teddy comfortingly.

"Oh, are those the robes you have to wear to Andi's wedding?" asked Orion with a smirk.

"Yeah, and the ones that I'm going to wear in ShiShi's wedding. Dave asked me too."

"Are they pink?" asked James who was trying to hold back laughter.

Rolling his eyes with an exasperated sigh, "Yeah, they are actually black pants, a white shirt, a bright pink vest and a different shade pink tie, and then the actual robes part are a deep purple color. The purple is actually not that bad, but Merlin, the pink is awful!" He took a swig of his butterbeer wishing it was something stronger. "Dave's robes aren't bad though, really, just black with a reddish orange vest and then a yellow tie."

"That's good, quite the groomsmen aren't you?" asked Murphy with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, enough about me, how about you guys? What's new?"

"The usual," replied Murphy. "James is mooning over Ellie twenty four seven, I'm playing quidditch and going to games, and well Orion is getting into trouble at the academy quite a bit. They've both been passing those tests and all. It's quite admirable, I could never do that."

"Aww, thanks buddy, and I'm not obsessed with Ellie," retorted James. "But, Orion is obsessed with his girlfriend." He waggled his eyebrows at Orion who scowled a bit before assuming a dreamy expression.

"Yeah, he actually got a girl who will stick with him for more than a week!" laughed Murphy.

"NO!" exclaimed Teddy in surprise. "I don't believe it!"

"Believe it man," said Orion assuming a dreaming expression while James and Murphy shared a look rolling their eyes. "She is the most beautiful, wonderful, intelligent, kindest, woman I've ever met. She has these eyes that are like jems, and her hair is like spider spun silk, and her smile is like the sunshine on the first day after it rains!"

"I didn't know you were so poetic," laughed Teddy, barely able to keep himself from letting the butterbeer he had just drunk spurt out his nose.

"That was just her physical beauty man, you should hear what he has to say about her personality! He's bloody obsessed! Almost as much as James was with Ellie!" cracked Murphy causing Orion to huff and turn toward the fire and ignore them for the next few minutes.

"Have you two met her then?" asked Teddy looking at Orion who was writing a love letter.

"Nope, she's his mysterious obsession," answered James. "It's almost not healthy."

"James, you're really one to talk. You would rip your own skin off and give it to Ellie if she was cold and you thought it would keep her warm! Not only is that disgusting, but I would consider that a bit unhealthy," joked Murphy although the statement was true.

Suddenly, Orion spoke up, "How does this sound? :

To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most Beautified woman,  
Doubt thou the stars are fire;  
Doubt that the sun doth move;  
Doubt truth to be a liar;  
But never doubt my love.  
O dearest, I am ill at these poems;  
I have not art to reckon my groans: but that  
I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu."

"Are you bloody kidding me?!" exclaimed Teddy. "LOVE POEMS! ORION?"

"Told you he was bad!" laughed James and Murphy.

"For the love of Merlin!" exclaimed Orion storming off to his room. The other three laughed before turning in for the night. After all, they had to work the next day.

* * *

Friday afternoon found Victoire Weasley at Wanda's Wonderful Wedding Wardrobes for Andi's wedding. Tanya, Jessica, Megan, and Victoire were huddled around Andi who was bubbling with excitement as she displayed a copy of the invitation that had been sent out the week prior.

"See, not only is it pink, it's scented!" she exclaimed waving it in front of Victoire's nose. "And see, it comes in such a pretty envelope!" The bridesmaids murmured in agreement as Andi showed them pictures of some of the things she had registered for as gifts and then discussed the plans. Tanya who had recently gotten a job in Russia as a translator for the Ministry was home for the weekend. She was promising to help Andi with the seating chart, so Victoire promised to help her with some of the other aspects of the wedding that Tanya wouldn't be able to.

After all of that was settled, they didn't immediately begin discussing dresses, but instead Andi asked Tanya about Russia, as she had been gone since Sarah's wedding and was just settling into the country. Apparently Tanya had met the most wonderful wizard who was handsome and kind. The other girls oohed and ahhed over the budding foreign romance, and then went on to discuss their own love lives. Jessica was of course dating Justin Ramirez and gloated over his handsome looks while Megan blushed and told them that Justin Wilkes' older brother Henry had asked her on a few dates and things were getting serious. He had shot to the top within a few years and had a big shot job at the ministry. It was obvious that he was looking for a pretty young wife to show off at ministry parties. Victoire realized that Megan fit the bill almost perfectly and hoped that Megan truly liked the man.

She had been embarrassed to tell them that she was still single, after not really dating in school, they seemed to accept it, but she noticed the pitying glances. It was at this point she offered to try on the dress first. Andi had been elated to bring up the dresses finally, and jumped into action bringing out a dress from somewhere. At first glance, Victoire was instantly reminded of the horrible quidditch robes that Andi had designed for her team the Pink Whales last year at the seventh year tournament.

"I designed them myself," she said confirming Victoire's suspicions. "Aren't they positively sparkly!?" The bridesmaids nodded in agreement while Victoire stood up and taking all of her Gryffindor courage marched into the dressing room to try it on.

The dress was mostly a bright hot pink material that shone almost metallically in the light. It had a heart shaped neck line and short puffy sleeves that were reminiscent of the eighties and early nineties. In fact, the dress as a whole was reminiscent of a dress from that period. It hit Victoire at the knees. It was somewhat poufy, but what made the poufiness was the layers of fabric on each other. Each layer was supported by tule. Accented on the metallic fabric on the hem, around the waist, and on the neckline were bright purple sequins that glittered gaudily in the light. There were also purple sequined high heeled shoes that went with the dress. As she slipped them on her feet and stepped out of the dressing room, Victoire felt as if she belonged in a muggle musical play.

Clapping her hands together, Andi admired the dress on Victoire. It didn't look bad. No, it looked quite horrible. The only thing missing was the horrible purple and pink whale hat on her head that made atrocious whale noises. Tanya actually seemed to like it, but she had always been a bit odd, and then Jessica didn't seem to care. Megan looked a bit leery and asked if it was itchy, and that confirmed Victoire's suspicions. The other bridesmaids were as nuts as Andi.

In any case, Andi was a good friend, and she wouldn't let her down. One wedding was no big deal and she could wear the dress. After all, it wasn't really that itchy. And if you didn't let your arms rest on the sequins you didn't get scratched.

After bidding goodbye to Andi and Tanya, Victoire hurried through the rain to the Leaky Cauldron so she could apparate. She had taken the afternoon off so she could go to the dress fitting, and so she had worked yesterday afternoon instead. Therefore, she had rescheduled her visit to Granny Tonk's house for today. She knew the older woman was expecting her at about three.

* * *

When she got there, Granny Tonks was already waiting with the tea tray set out and a very very large plate of biscuits waiting along with some coffee cake, and tea sandwiches. Victoire eyed them hungrily, wondering how Granny Tonks knew she had skipped lunch today.

"Happy Birthday!" exclaimed Victoire happily hugging the older woman. "I got you a gift, and I brought one from Ted."

"Oh, how sweet darling! I'll open them in a bit, sit, sit," said Andromeda looking to the door before turning back to the meal in front of them and the three prettily wrapped presents.

"Did you get anything good for your birthday? How does it feel to be seventy?" asked Victoire.

"Ohh, about the same as it felt to be sixty nine I suppose," replied Andromeda earning a laugh from Victoire. "So, Vicky, darling, how was the dress fitting?" asked the older woman handing Victoire a plate with a few cucumber and chicken salad sandwiches.

"Andi designed the dresses herself, so they are a bit gaudy," answered Victoire before taking a big bite out of the sandwich. These had been her favorite type of sandwiches since she was young and had started coming to the Tonks house.

"If Andi designed them, they must be more than a _bit_ gaudy," came a voice from the parlor doorway. Victoire almost choked on her food while Andromeda looked unperturbed at the arrival of her grandson. Jumping across the room with her mouth still full, Victoire hugged her friend tightly. "Geeze Vic, don't forget to let me breathe!" He laughed as she finally swallowed the sandwich.

"What are you doing here!?" she demanded as they returned to the couch and sat back down to the tea party that was set up. Andromeda handed her grandson a cup of tea that Victoire hadn't noticed before, and he grabbed a sandwich. They were his favorite too.

"Well, I wanted to see everyone off who was leaving on the express tomorrow. My one and only Grandmother was turning seventy today, and I had some business with my boss. Plus, I missed rainy England," answered Teddy reaching over and brushing a wet strand of hair out of Victoire's face for her.

"Yes, you look like you've had too much sun, darling," interjected Andromeda.

"It's Egypt, what can I say," he said lightly as Victoire looked jealously at his tan. She never could get a nice tan, always too pale. She should have visited Shell Cottage more this summer, Dom had gotten a great tan laying on the beach. Too bad she actually had a job and lived in the real world now. Maybe if she wasn't involved in planning so many weddings.

"Well, how is everything in Egypt?" Andromeda asked.

"Great, just great!" replied Teddy. "I've been emptying this really old vault and there is the coolest stuff in there! There was this amazingly old sword that I had some goblins investigate and it was one of the oldest goblin made swords they had ever seen. Of course, the stupid things thought it was theirs then, but really, they have no comprehension of possessions. At least not in the same way wizards do. And then there was all of this great jewelry. Remember how we used to dig through your mom, and Aunt Ginny's jewelry and you were so fascinated Vic? This stuff was just amazing! There was a trunk full of goblin made jewels! A TRUNK! Whoever had this vault was amazingly wealthy. It's considered the largest find in history, and I'm helping catalog it. We've only opened the first room, and there are suspected to be seven more rooms! Each bigger than the last! Each filled with more valuable items than the one before it! It will take months to get this vault done! I swear, it's amazing!"

"Wow, that sounds fabulous!" exclaimed Victoire. "So much history and wealth in just a few rooms. It must be very beautiful."

"Yeah, so how is everything here? I just heard you complaining about Andi's wedding. My robes are horrible. But, what did I expect really, it's Andi. In any case, Kendrick promised that the wedding would have plenty of good food and drinks."

"Oh, well as long as your stomach is taken care of, I suppose it will all be fine," laughed Victoire along with Andromeda. "Well, ShiShi is getting married too, and her dress is almost as horrible, I look like a pumpkin in it. Big and round! And I've been helping the brides so much. I'm meeting up with Andi three time next week to go to the caterers and then the bakery, and then of course the place to get the decorations because we can't do without the purple sparkly streamers she's been dreaming of her entire life! ShiShi has been needing a lot of help too. She is already worried about the seating chart, so I've been helping her straighten that out every Wednesday night."

"Wow, sounds like these wedding plans are taking up tons of your time! What do you do for fun?" asked Teddy sounding surprised at how much time Victoire was spending helping her friends plan their weddings.

"I study. I visit Granny here, that's the most fun I have all week. This week I even have the added surprise bonus of you being here!" she stated.

"Well, don't you and the girls go out on the weekends or anything?" asked Andromeda who hadn't realized that she was the highlight of Victoire's week.

"Well, they are all so busy with their fiance's. I just think they don't have much time anymore. And then when they do want to do something, I'm a third wheel because they bring their boyfriends and I don't have one."

"Ohh, so you're still not seeing anyone," said Andromeda sipping her tea.

"Nope," said Victoire, trying not to look in Teddy's direction as her face turned bright red in embarrassment. "But in any case, I'm sure that Teddy wants to hear about you too Granny. I'll let you two get caught up. Tell him about the bridge party you had last week, but I really had better go. I have some things I need to get together to give Dom before she goes back to Hogwarts. I borrowed a few of her clothes and she'll be upset if she doesn't have them by the time she gets on the train tomorrow. See you tomorrow Ted, bye Gran! Happy Birthday, hope you like your gifts, the big one is from me and the other two I picked out for Ted. Until next week!" She hugged them both and left.

When she got home, she looked in the mirror and winced. Her hair was flattened and horrible looking from her run through the rain earlier. Her outfit was her dull blue skirt that her mother had given her a few summers ago and was too faded to be considered nice any longer. At least her shirt was nice, but she hadn't worn any make up today because of the rain. Eww, Teddy had seen her like that!

* * *

After visiting with his grandmother who had absolutely loved her birthday gifts, especially the dress, shoes, and hat from Victoire and him, he had returned home to find Murphy setting up for marauders night. He really had to thank Vic for picking out those shoes and the hat. His gran had been so excited she had written Victoire right away thanking her, but Teddy thought he should thank his friend again. He didn't know what he would do without her. He hadn't even asked her to get the gifts, but she had, and they had been perfect.

That night they had marauders night. Exploring the mountains surrounding Hogsmeade in their animal forms, they had a great time until late in the night when they returned to the Shack and got quite drunk while playing cards in the kitchen. Teddy never realized how much he missed his friends until he came home and was with them for a few nights.

The next morning, he and a very hungover James went to the Station to see off the family and the cousins, running into Victoire who looked more beautiful than ever with her long blond hair perfectly curled and her clothes very pretty. She had a rather large bag for her sister Dom who was going to be a seventh year this year. Meanwhile, James was obsessing over Albus and his best friend Scorpius. Scorpius had made quidditch captain, and James was trying to give him advice on how to run the team. Rose meanwhile was rolling her eyes as her two best friends chatted quidditch. Eventually she got on the train with a brief wave to everyone.

Teddy hadn't ever been particularly close to James' uncle Charlie, but he was there with his oldest daughter. She was a pretty little thing with light brown hair, like her mother. She looked scared, but excited. Charlie Weasley with his longish red hair looked very sad to see her go, and his wife was openly crying. Annika blushed while Alicia Weasley tried to explain it was the hormones. Apparently she was pregnant with their fifth child much to the pleasure of Grandma Molly.

Percy Weasley's family was also sending a daughter off, Molly. She was the one crying in her family though. The chubby red head was afraid to get on the train, and her father was literally pushing her off the platform until her cousin Roxanne, George's daughter who would also be a first year, talked her into getting on the train. Apparently the three cousins would share a compartment if she would just hurry up and get on the train. That did it, and soon the train was off.

Suddenly, Victoire was at his side. "Do you remember our first year?" she asked.

"Yeah, that was the year I became such great friends with Orion and Murphy!" laughed Teddy smiling at the memories of his first year. Pulling their first pranks, getting his first detentions.

"Yeah, the year you weren't friends with me anymore," said Victoire. "That was the worst year of my life except for meeting Elaine. I hated first year."

"I, I never meant to…" said Teddy surprised at the sudden disclosure of how she had felt.

"You thought girls had cooties that year, didn't talk to me much that summer. Before that we were best friends, but your Gran was right, you grew out of it. It really wasn't until fourth year though. Remember third year when you told that sixth year Adam that I had a crush on him? OH I WAS SO MAD! But Ellie and I got back at you, it was us who put the itching powder in your bed that year."

"I really deserted you back in the first few years of school," commented Teddy feeling really bad. He had abandoned the girl he loved!

"It's okay. It just made me closer to Elaine and ShiShi and Sarah. But, honestly, you were a real jerk with those pranks sometimes! I didn't want to go back to school after Christmas Break first year."

"NO!" laughed Teddy.

"Yeah, but it looks like the station is clearing out. I had better get going. ShiShi needs me to go with her to look at this place she is thinking about for the reception," said Victoire thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I have to go too, but I won't see you before I go back to Cairo. Stay safe until I see you at the wedding," said Teddy hugging her tightly.

"You too," she said. "Love you Tedders! Despite anything that may have happened first and second year."

"Love you too Vicky, even if I thought you were icky for a while," he said smiling. He knew they were both remembering the summer he had told her that she put the icky in Vicky and then had refused to be called Vicky for months. Smiling they parted ways.

* * *

**So here's your update, it's the longest chapter so far, and I thought it was pretty good. Please review and the next chapter will be Andi's wedding... For those of you who didn't read Marauders class of 2018 Andi is well explained there, but mostly she's just obsessed with pink. Read the chapter called Seventh year Spring Break SPectacular if you want to know more... She's one of my favorite characters! Anyways, more action next chapter, promise! Also, I stole the poem Orion wrote and if you find out who wrote it, you'll know who his girlfriend is!!! HAHAHAH next chapter more revealed on that front!!! I'll try to update soon, and again, reallllllly sorry for the delay. I had college try outs and I still don't know if I made it, but I somehow think i messed up. I fell out of a stunt and that probably screwed my chances.... I'm pretty upset... but I want to know I got rejected for sure... so anyways... THANKS FOR READING PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! Thirty+ reviews will reallly reallly inspire me, but I'm planning on a update by Sat if at all possible...**

**ELLIE**


	6. The Pink Wedding

_Together with our parents, we  
Andromeda Elizabeth Burnsworth  
and  
Kendrick Allen Wallace  
invite you to share in the joy  
when we exchange marriage vows  
and begin our new life together  
on Saturday, the twenty-second of September  
two thousand eighteen  
at four o'clock in the afternoon  
__Cathedral of St. Thomas  
751 Rowena Road  
Hogsmeade, Scotland_

Victoire moaned as she heard a loud pounding on the door. "Go away," she called. Damn Tanya, and Elaine, and Andi, and ShiShi, and Sarah, and Megan, and everyone else, and especially Hannah-sodding-Longbottom. This time she was truthfully swearing off all forms of alcohol for life! Bachelorette parties were no exception to the rule that Victoire Georgette Weasley does not drink.

"Vic," said Elaine suddenly at her side. "I'm sooo sorry! I really shouldn't have talked you into that second glass of champagne, and I definitely shouldn't have let Tanya give you that funny looking blue drink, and oh Toire, I'm so sorry. You didn't want to, and well really you should have stood up for yourself a bit more, but oh, honey, you are a horrible drunk. Three drinks and you were basically wasted. How's your head? I brewed up a quick hangover potion." Elaine helped her sit up and rubbed her back calmingly as she sipped the horrid tasting drink.

"What did I do?" asked Victoire cautiously. She was a horrible drunk and after agreeing to the first glass of champagne to toast her friend at the bachelorette party, she hadn't been as adverse to a second or third or fourth drink as she should have been.

"Errr…" said Elaine pausing. Victoire knew it was bad then. "Well, being a veela, I think you lost control on your guy attracting powers, for a bit. They were practically mugging you! And then you kissed some poor bloke, and he passed out from the mere shock of it and you just laughed and laughed. And we had to get you out of there before you started a kissing booth! Something about 'if I can't have Teddy Lupin, what's stopping me?'"

"Merlin, I'm never drinking again! I swear, this is the last time!"

"At least it wasn't as bad as in sixth year when we snuck into Hogsmeade. I swear you were going to get killed by that hag you challenged to a duel! If I hadn't intervened! And then you would have been surely arrested if I hadn't apparated you out of there when the aurors showed up! Setting the pub on fire wasn't a great survival strategy either!"

"SHUT UP ELLIE!" said Victoire trying to forget stupid things she had done while drunk. She clutched her head in her hands, trying to stop the pounding. "Urgg.. you suck at potions!"

"I was top in the class, need I remind you, number two?"

"Slughorn just thought he could get in your pants."

"Ho Hem!" interjected Ellie. "If I recall it was you who got drunk at one of his parties and tried to give him a lapdance! Honestly, if he hadn't been wasted from drinking too much of the punch that the marauders spiked, you would have been in detention or something equally horrible."

"I TOLD YOU NEVER TO MENTION THAT AGAIN!" shrieked Victoire, wincing at the painful memory of being slightly tipsy after the marauders had spiked the punch. Luckily most everyone else at the party had been drunk so, no one but Elaine had witnessed her performance, and Teddy and the marauders hadn't been there at all as they had skedaddled after committing their crime.

"Okay, fine, I won't. Just don't get drunk again, and I won't have to!" retorted Elaine who was also a bit hungover and looked a bit put out over all of the screaming. Victoire smiled smugly. "Well, now that you feel so much better, you need to get going! Your hair appointment is in twenty minutes! You overslept!"

Victoire's eyes widened, and she shot out of bed, still wearing the clothes she had worn the night before. "YOU SLAG!" she called as she shot to the bathroom. "HOW COULD YOU LET ME SLEEP IN!"

"BREAKFAST IS ON THE TABLE! LOVE YOU TOO!" called Elaine who was now laying herself down on Victoire's bed, closing her eyes. She was tired and hungover too.

After her startlingly cold shower, Victoire threw on a pair of grey sweats and grabbed the egg, cheese, and ham sandwich that Ellie had made her. Apparating to the salon in Hogsmeade where the bridal party was meeting to get ready, she wasn't surprised that she was the last one there. Andi was sitting in her bright pink sweat suit that proclaimed her _THE BRIDE _in purple sequins as she got her hair done by the woman. Tanya's hair was done in a big poofy mass of curls on her head, and Megan's hair was in the process of being poodlefied. Victoire smirked at the thought.

"Hey, sorry I'm late! I'm just a bit tired from last night still, but I'm super excited!" she said in her best bridesmaid voice.

"Yes, last night was quite interesting," commented Andi with a smirk. Victoire wondered if there was anything Elaine forgot to tell her about. "But sit down Toire, Shanna will do your hair! I was thinking lots of curls!"

Victoire shrugged, she had left her hair straight after her shower, and it wasn't her big day, whatever the bride wanted. Settling into the chair, she fiddled with the zipper on her sweat suit jacket. She needed to relish the grey before detonation. Let the countdown begin.

A few hours later, a small group of men sat in the back room of St. Thomas's passing around a flask of muggle whiskey. "No thanks," said a man with his shoulder length light brown hair tied back in a pony tail. He was sitting on top of a dressing table, and passed the flask to the man on the floor next to him.

"Are you sure Ted?" asked one of the other men looking across the small room speculatively. "Those look pretty awful, and I'm going to need a bit of liquid courage to step one foot outside this room."

"That's why I was a Gryffindor and you were a Hufflepuff. Bravery, I've got it in abundance," he replied loftily with a wink.

"Not around Miss Weasley if I recall," commented a dark haired Asian man. Ted blushed, and David laughed. "Must still be true."

"So, nervous there KenKen?" taunted Travis Thicknesse gulping down a large portion of the whiskey before passing it to the groom who was wearing the least embarrassing of the outfits which had been modified since the last time that they had seen them. The pants were still black, and the shirt still white. All of the men were currently wearing theirs, but their ties, vests, and robes still hung on the hooks across the room.

Suddenly, the door to their small sanctuary burst open, and in marched the very woman they had been speaking of seconds before. David raised an eyebrow in Teddy's direction, and the metamorphmagus looked at the floor. The other groomsmen were staring at the dress clad veela, more specifically her dress. While her hair was a tasteful mass of curls, and her make up was very gaudy, and the dress was something else, all the way from the tips of her purple sequin clad shoes to the puffy pink sleeves.

"Come, come, why are you not ready, the wedding starts in twenty minutes and while I'm sure you wanted to minimize the amount of time in the… errr… wonderful ensembles that Andi picked out, you must get ready. Theodore Lupin, don't give me that look, my your hair has gotten long, make it pink, match my dress if you can. Andi would flip a shit if she saw the five of you in here like this. Teddy, up, let me help you into this vest, are you honestly this much taller than the last time I saw you?"

The rest of the men looked on in horrified shock as she pulled their fellow to his feet and began dressing him in the bright pink vest with metallic purple buttons, wrapped the bright pink tie around his neck, pulling the knot violently as Teddy's face went a little purple, and literally thrust him into the bright purple robes with the purple sequins on the trim. She had transformed their very manly looking friend into a poof in a matter of seconds.

"Now, who's next, or are you capable of dressing yourselves?" she asked aggressively. They sprung into action, Kendrick being the grateful one as his robes were simple black and white with a limited bit of purple and pink in his vest and tie.

"You look great Vic," said Teddy, enchanted by her mere presence.

"Don't lie to me Lupin," she snapped. "I look like a prostitute, a tart, a slag, a common bloody whore! Bloody dress, bloody shoes, bloody sparkley eye shadow!"

"Aw Vic, you still look like a princess to me, besides, I'm the male sporting pink hair, just a bit emasculating don'cha think?" Victoire managed a weak smile at her longstanding friend. She wouldn't admit it to him, but he was still very handsome with pink hair. Made his bright blue eyes pop even more.

"Thanks Ted, and don't worry, it's just one night, and then we can burn these clothes, right?" she winked at him and then kissed him briefly on the cheek. "I've got to go and so do you gentlemen. Hurry up! I'd hate to see what Bridezilla would do if you weren't at the altar Kendrick! BE THERE!" And with a flash of purple sparkles and pink glitter, she was gone from the small room.

Less than ten minutes later, Victoire was holding her large bouquet of pink roses waiting for the large wooden church doors to open for the bridal party to march down the isle. As two ushers in pale pink suits grasped the handles of the door in front of her, Victoire enjoyed a mental count down. In five, four, three, two, one… BAM! PINK EXPLOSION!

Andi's cousin was the flower girl and walked down the isle strewing large bright purple petals on the pink runway carpet that Andi had gotten to decorate the church for the occasion. The dark wood pews that lined either side of the long pink isle were draped in matching pink silk with purple ribbons and bright pink flowers. Andi had even commissioned the church to allow her to temporarily paint the walls a bright pink. However, not even temporarily painting the walls of the church pink was the crowning pinkness of the occasion. Borrowing from the ingenuity of the marauders way back in their first year, a spell had been placed on the entrances to the church that temporarily changed the colors and shades of the outfits of the guests into various shades of pink and purple. The guests were a collage of every shade of pink known to wizarding kind.

As Victoire stepped up to prepare for her own march down the isle, she almost wished she had sunglasses to shield her eyes from the glaring pinkness of it all. It literally looked like a pink bomb had detonated inside the small crowded chapel. Just before beginning her walk of shame dressed like a slag however, Victoire had one small comfort, a small concession granted to her by Andi so that Victoire could manage a legitimate smile as she paraded to the altar. Looking to her left, she saw a patch of red hair soaring above the crowd, Uncle Ron. Looking at him in his now very pink outfit, combined with the pouting grimace of disgust plastered on his face, she couldn't help but bite back a laugh as she serenely began her walk. Somehow above all the murmuring and music, she managed to hear a muted "Bloody Hell! I swear to all that is holy that the food at this reception better be bloody worth it… bloody pink wedding," "Honestly Ronald." "We thought Phlem's wedding was horrible! This doesn't even compare!"

Grinning broadly, she looked down the isle to see someone else who made her smile: Teddy Lupin, pink hair and all, with a serious look on his face. Gliding down the isle in her horrible dress, with her horrible shoes, and horrible make up, somehow, him looking at her with that slight upward tilt in his lips and calming glow in his blue eyes made Victoire feel beautiful. Not quite the normal miracle considering she was part veela, but under the circumstances, yes.

After the other two bridesmaids and Tanya had walked out, the congregation rose to greet Andi in her long flowing white dress on the arm of her father who was wearing a set of black dress robes. Apparently, he got to do whatever he liked since he was paying for the affair. A watery eyed Mr. Burnsworth passed his daughter almost reluctantly to the waiting Kendrick.

Victoire grinned at the sight. Andi had really planned this well. In order to avoid the glaring pink surrounding them, all attention was clearly focused on the beautiful couple in white as they exchanged vows, rings, and a kiss. The stark white of Andi's dress made her look like a beacon of beauty in the ostentation and gaudiness of the chapel, a pure and beautiful substance surrounded by the glaring colors of exaggeration. Victoire no longer resented her dress as the overall effect was wonderful. Okay… so she still did resent it.

The pictures took forever, but for once Victoire took comfort in the blinding property of a bright flash. She could no longer see the pink surroundings. By the time that the wedding party arrived at the giant pink tent where the reception was being held on the warm September night, Victoire was a bit flash happy. Barely registering that the people were no longer pink, she adjusted her eyes finally as a bright purple blur ran up to her.

"Victoire!" exclaimed Elaine as she came into focus. She hugged her friend. "You have got to be the best friend anyone ever had to wear that horrible costume. I thought you could use some love."

"Thanks Lainey, you're the best. I really needed that hug. I can't even let myself drink off the misery!" she laughed.

"Yeah, we don't want a repeat of last night," giggled Elaine who Victoire realized was a bit tipsy on the sparkling pink champagne already. "See you after dinner, bring Teddy to our table. Andi separated the marauders so they wouldn't cause trouble, and we haven't even seen Orion yet! I'll be lonely!" She made a pouty face before turning on her heel and swaying off to find James. Like bloody hell she'd be lonely with James to keep her company was Victoire's opinion on the matter.

The dinner was surprisingly good, perhaps because Andi's father had drawn the line at pink food and forced her to choose normal food. However, he had conceded to a pink five layer confectionary of a wedding cake decorated in frosting roses. The toasts were beautiful, Tanya's in three languages before they managed to shut her up. After, Kendrick and Andi had enjoyed a beautiful dance below a cloud of twinkling fairy lights floating above their heads.

Teddy had led Victoire out on the floor for a dance she knew she would savor a lifetime. Andi's dance with her father had been a bleery eyed one for him. Apparently, she was his little princess, and he still couldn't handle the idea of losing her to some boy. However, after a few short dances, Victoire and Teddy migrated over to the table where Elaine and James were sitting, both slightly tipsy, Elaine more so as she didn't hold her alcohol as well as James did.

"Let's play a game!" exclaimed Victoire looking to Teddy who caught on immediately. Grinning he remembered the last wedding they had attended and nodded enthusiastically. In fact, he was pretty sure he had seen Ophelia Rossi wandering around with a half empty cocktail drink in her hand.

"No!" exclaimed James. "You're kidding! Oh, explain to Ellie, we can't play without Orion! This is the best! Bringing back "are you my mommy?" He rushed off excitedly while Teddy and Victoire happily explained the rules of the game to Ellie who thought it was a great idea and was anxious to play.

James was soon trotting back with laughter in his eyes. "Told Orion, he's excited, doesn't know how the game works yet, but this is going to be great! Who is our victim?"

"Ophelia Rossi, we pranked her last wedding, and it was priceless. I have a few more pick up lines that I've looked up, stole some from your Ellie chasing days. I can't wait to try them on her!" laughed Teddy while Victoire and Elaine giggled at the prospect of the impeding entertainment. They were truly a bit bored, and this game was just too fun to pass up.

"This is going to be great, I even brought a camera this time!" laughed Victoire.

"Oh wow, remember when she told me that girls with asses like hers don't talk to boys with faces like mine, well I've got some faces for her!" joked Teddy, James and Elaine laughing.

After a few minutes of laughing and waiting, Orion suddenly appeared out of the crowd. The group smiled at him, ready to begin the festivities. "Hey guys, can't wait to play this mysterious wedding game! And, I brought a friend. I'd like you all to meet my girlfriend," he turned to introduce someone, but then held up a finger to indicate he would be a second longer and hopped back into the crowd before reappearing a second later holding the hand of a beautiful woman. "Meet my girlfriend Ophelia Rossi," he said as she gave the group an 'I'm better than you' smile.

"A pleasure to meet you," she said in her refined voice, flicking her eyes over them dismissively.

"So, you said we were gonna play a game! Let's play, I'm pumped, PhePhee wants to play too, how does this go?" Orion asked excitedly as the others exchanged glances nervously. Game over, Ophelia was out as a candidate, and they couldn't let her see them play. Too risky, she was a bitch and a slytherin, but she wasn't dumb.

"Errr, actually, I think they are going to cut the cake soon, and I think that Ted and I are needed… did you and Ellie say something about wanting to dance instead?" prompted Victoire with pointed looks at the others. They all chimed in agreement a bit too quickly and enthusiastically, but Orion didn't seem to notice and they bid farewells to Ophelia, saying how wonderful it was to meet her. Teddy and Vic exchanged glances as they abandoned the couple, before bursting into laughter when they reached a safe distance. Neither could imagine Orion staying with that frigid bitch long. After that, whenever there was a quiet moment the rest of the night, Victoire whispered, "PhePhee," causing them both to burst out into giggles.

**Okay, so I updated, and yes, it's short (3,000+ words really isn't bad). However, I have the next chapter which is ShiShi's wedding to post too. They were too long together as a joint chapter, and I really wanted them to be separate. So, if you get me five reviews by Friday the next chapter will be up then. I'll post either friday or sat or sunday depending on the number of reviews... so... REVIEW! and I'm already working on the next chapter! All my AP tests are done, I have no finals, and all that's left is graduation and stuff.... I'll have tons more time to write... THANKS FOR REVIEWING!!!**

**Elaine**


	7. The Third Wedding

_Whether yellow, orange, brown or gold  
the colors of fall never grow old  
This is a reflection of true love_

_ever changing, yet everlasting  
Please join  
ShiShi Lotus Yang  
and  
David Shang Lee  
as they exchange wedding  
vows on  
Wednesday, the thirty first of  
October  
two thousand eighteen  
at five o'clock in the evening  
Flagley Park  
44 Wickersham Way  
Upper Flagley, Yorkshire_

Before Victoire knew it, it was the day of yet another wedding. The morning of the wedding, ShiShi was in a tizzy. She had woken them at nearly eight, which was too early in Victoire's book. To keep her mind off the wedding, Victoire had employed her friend's help in working in her greenhouse. With fall approaching, many of her plants were going into hibernation which saddened Victoire, but she wanted to move things around anyways. The work took ShiShi's mind off of the wedding until about noon, but then she realized her nails had been destroyed digging up Victoire's bouncing bulbs.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" she shrieked. Victoire rolled her eyes and began performing a few quick charms. She knew quite a bit about nail charms being a part veela, but that was a different story.

"Come on, let's go to your hair appointment, settle down Shish!" exclaimed Elaine, the Maid of Honor who was practically a genius at running a wedding after the last two she had done along with her own which was still in the early planning stages. After all, she had two months. Victoire was planning on going to her dress fitting the next week.

ShiShi was nervous at the hair appointment, whining the entire time that her nail might break again and the repairing charm that Victoire had preformed might not hold. She was worried about the weather, it may look like a perfect sunny and crisp autumn day now, but in a few hours, it could be raining and gale force winds.

Victoire had her own hair done, an elegant bun with a few whispy curls framing her face at the front. ShiShi had several of her cousins in the wedding also, but they didn't speak English very well, so Victoire and Elaine and Sarah didn't really talk to them. In no time at all, Victoire was putting the last brush of golden and brown eye shadow on her eye lids, and pulling on her golden high heels. Her tent like dress made her look like a pumpkin, but right now, today was ShiShi's day, and if ShiShi wanted her to look like a pumpkin, she would.

The bridal party had apparated from the boutique where they had gotten ready to the wooded park where the ceremony was taking place beneath the brilliant collage of autumn leaves. The park was frequented by hikers, but once in a while the odd wedding occurred in a small clearing near the entrance of the park. ShiShi had arranged for wooden folding chairs to be set up on either side of a long red carpet that was strewn with yellow leaves. Yellow, red, and orange ribbons, silks, and flower arrangements were decorating the set up, while the natural decorations of fall were the centerpiece of the occasion.

The girls apparated into a small tent that had been set up for them and were joined by Mr. Yang, ShiShi's father who was shorter than Victoire, and quite stern looking. They made last minute adjustments to their appearances and after giving ShiShi a round of hugs and kisses, pulled the veil over her face just in time for the wedding music to begin.

ShiShi's cousins were first, following her cousin's daughter who was the flower girl. Next was Victoire, bursting out the small opening of the tent in her poufy dress with some minor difficulty. They would pull back the flaps of the tent when ShiShi emerged so it would be a bit more graceful. She looked down the isle to see the proud faced David waiting for his bride and couldn't help but smile. He looked so anxious, yet serene.

Next came Sarah, smiling at her husband Frank who was David's best man. After, Elaine filed down, also looking like a pumpkin, if Victoire the part Veela couldn't escape the torture, neither could Elaine. As the bridal march started, Victoire glanced at the groomsmen, not really knowing all of them very well but grinning to see Teddy looking at her. He winked at her and she discretely stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a look that clearly told him to pay attention to the wedding.

ShiShi came out of the tent looking like a goddess. She had been growing out her short hair a bit, and it was curled in an updo that gave it the illusion of length. Her smile beneath the lacey veil was bright and happy, lighting up her entire face. Mr. Yang looked so proud as he led her steadily toward David and the priest who were waiting beneath a pair of trees whose branches intertwined to create an arch above the couple. When they reached the front, Mr. Yang pulled back the veil giving his daughter a sweet kiss on the cheek before firmly placing her hand in David's with a look of trust and respect toward the younger man. Mr. Yang was very happy with ShiShi's choice, and who wouldn't be? David was a great guy.

The wedding was beautiful, the crisp fall air neither too hot or too cold. The setting was perfect with the light chattering of birds and animals coming from the surrounding woods making the perfect background noise. Victoire really couldn't imagine a more perfect fall wedding when the Priest announced that David could kiss his bride and a gust of wind suddenly blew a swirl of leaves around the happy couple, almost magically. Okay, so maybe there had been a spell involved, but Victoire wasn't sure if there had or not.

The sun was just beginning to set as the ceremony closed and the bridal party stayed to take pictures while the wedding guests headed to a different part of the park where the reception was being held under some tents.

As soon as ShiShi and David arrived, there was a mob of Asian people clamoring to get the attention of the bride and groom, allowing Elaine, Teddy, and Victoire to sneak off and find James while Sarah and Frank did their "we're married but we're going to sit here and stare into each other's eyes" thingy that they did quite a lot lately. They soon found James who was talking to Murphy who looked uncomfortable. He had never been the best around girls, and suddenly, it seemed like he was turning into a bit of celebrity now that he was getting some fame on the lower league quidditch circuit.

When Ellie and James reunited, James made a big show of trying to approach her from all angles before stepping into the puff of her dress and hugging her while crushing her lungs and the dress. "Wasn't sure if I could get around the poufiness, I tried though," he said with a smirk. Ellie glared.

"Toire, I promise that I will not have a puffy dress. We're picking them out on Wednesday, don't forget," said Elaine looking mournfully at her dress. "Perhaps if I tried a shrinking spell on it… it would deflate," she pondered fingering her wand.

"I wouldn't try it luv, ShiShi's watching," said James causing Elaine to look up guiltily to see that ShiShi had her back turned to them as she talked in rapid Chinese with her grandmother. Ellie smacked James on his chest with a huff.

"Liar," she muttered as she grabbed Toire's hand and began dragging her to the high table for the dinner.

Dinner went smoothly, Victoire chatting happily with Elaine about her wedding plans. They were happy to take note of every detail of ShiShi's wedding and compare it to how that detail would be in Elaine's wedding.

"Now this fish is just delectable, I need to find out where she got this catered, I think we might have to get the fish especially from them because the place we went to in Godric's Hollow doesn't have this nice of a sauce blend," Elaine was saying as Victoire nodded in agreement. The fish was _really_ good.

"ELAINE, VICTOIRE!" came a loud voice from behind them. They swiveled in their chairs to see Tanya LaMonte'. She hugged them both, kissing them each on their cheeks.

"Tanya!" said Victoire gaining her bearings. "How's Russia been, and that boyfriend Vladimir that you were telling us about at Andi's wedding?"

"That's what I came over here to tell you about!" she screeched. "I'M ENGAGED!" She held out her left hand to show an absolutely giant clear and sparkling diamond on a bright and shinning platinum band. Victoire and Elaine's eyes both bugged out of their faces at the sheer wealth that the rather large ring screamed.

"Con-congratulations," stammered Victoire, unable to believe that the diamond could possibly be real, it was huge.

"Be my bridesmaids!" she exclaimed happily. "We wanted to get married on the same day as his parent's anniversary, and that doesn't give us much time, and we want to get married in England, and since you've been involved in so many weddings between the two of you lately, you know the wedding circuit, and so you can help me plan everything!" she exclaimed in a giant rush on sentence.

"We'd be happy to help," said Elaine with a smile. Victoire nodded, a bit reluctantly as she realized the implications of this wedding. This was her fifth wedding before the new year where she would be the bridesmaid. How were all of her friends finding the perfect men, while she a Veela who had magical abilities to attract men to her like flies to honey couldn't even get the one man she'd loved all her life to look twice at her? Plus, so far she'd had to go stag to all of the weddings because she was too lame to find a date. She was a VEELA for Merlin's sake! What was wrong with her?

"How soon did you say you were getting married?" asked Victoire trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Three weeks," gushed Tanya. "November 24th, and I know it's short notice, but money isn't an issue because Vladimir will pay for everything and so we can pay extra for the rush." She lowered her voice, "He's loaded."

"THREE WEEKS!" cried Elaine in shock.

"SHORT NOTICE?" demanded Victoire.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" stated Elaine.

"CAN'T BE DONE," agreed Victoire.

"SORRY," they both said together.

"YOU PROMISED ME!" said Tanya, her face falling and looking utterly dejected.

"Alright, we _might_ be able to manage it, but we aren't promising a miracle. We'll go get the dresses Monday, and then we'll order the cake Tuesday, we'll have to improvise a bit on the menu, but we'll book some place for the reception and the ceremony as soon as possible. We'll spend next week in overdrive and see how it goes. We can't promise a miracle," said Elaine, utterly too nice to say no to a friend in need. Victoire glared at her over Tanya's head.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU DARLINGS!" she said pulling them in for giant hugs while Teddy gave Victoire a funny look from across the table to which she merely shrugged and gave him an _I'll tell you later_ look.

A few minutes later, Elaine was making a speech and then ShiShi and David were dancing their first dance as a couple. As other happy couples joined the newest married one, Victoire looked away. Various of her mum and grandma Molly's friends had tried to set her up several times already tonight. Honestly, she wasn't interesting in Michael Higgs, thirty year old, successful accountant for the Ministry, great reptutation and ready to settle down. Robert McBride the twenty three year old hippogriff farmer with a large farm in Scotland didn't really strike her fancy either. All of those men just weren't right for her, they weren't Teddy Lupin.

Sarah and Frank were happily dancing, engrossed in each other's eyes and not paying attention at all to Elaine and James who were doing some pretty advanced dancing as James twirled a laughing Ellie around the floor, causing her giant dress to bell out and reveal the layers of white ruffles underneath the skirt. Andi and Kendrick were talking quietly with small smiles on their faces as he led Andi across the floor to near where Tanya was dancing with her fiancé, Vladimir, a handsome dark haired man with a big brown mustache and thick eyebrows. Turning around, Victoire knew she couldn't watch this all night, none, absolutely none, of her friends were single anymore.

The sudden feeling as if she was suffocating overtook Victoire and she decided she needed air, practically running out of the cheerful tent full of people. Reaching the outside of the tent, she saw that it was a perfect clear night, the moon shining down on the moonlit park prettily. Clutching her wand she began pacing, thinking how stupid she was, how she should have told Tanya where to stuff it, same with the rest of her friends and their stupid weddings and bridesmaid dresses.

The pitying looks, the unasked question of what's a great girl like you doing without a date and single, the conspiratory glances of would be match makers. They were driving her crazy. And this wasn't the first wedding where it had occurred. Muttering to herself under her breath, she was surprised when a quiet, "Vic?" intruded the darkness.

Spinning she identified the person who had followed her out of the tent as Teddy Lupin. Great, just great. "Wotcher Ted," she said with a small smile. He could always make her smile.

"This whole wedding reception thing blows," he said out of the blue. "Let's escape!"

"Honestly Ted, we need to be here for cake, and the throwing of the bouquet, and the garter, and all those other traditions," replied Victoire rolling her eyes and secretly hoping she would catch the bouquet. She really needed to.

"We can be back before anyone knows we left. Let's just go have a bit of fun. I never see you since I'm stuck in Egypt, land of no friends. The few nights I'm home I like to have some fun! The rest of my time is spent translating that ancient engraving, so I need some modern entertainment."

"What did you have in mind?" she asked raising an eyebrow at the way he was practically begging her.

"Do you still like chocolate and candy?" he asked with a wry grin.

"Is the queen English?" she shot back rolling her eyes. Teddy bent over and picked up two carved pumpkins that were decorating the area outside the tent and tapped them both with his wand. Waving his wand a silvery jet shot out of it and hit Victoire in the chest. Looking down she felt her body tingling and watched as the ground became closer and her dress turned white. "Lupin?" she asked looking up to see a Teddy Lupin just as she remembered him at age eleven. Grasping her throat she looked at him and then pulled her own wand and conjured a mirror. Yup, she was eleven again.

"Don't worry, I know the counter charm, just a disguise charm, quite handy. Here's your pumpkin, we're going trick or treating! I want candy!" laughed Teddy. Victoire smirked at his young sounding voice, vaguely remembering back in about third or fourth year when it had cracked and sputtered regularly before developing into the deep smooth one she was used to. It gave her goosebumps to hear his eleven year old voice now.

"This is sooo weird on so many levels Ted," she said smiling nonetheless.

"Come on, let's apparate, I'll side along you, and then we'll come back before anyone knows we've left." Giggling like the pair of eleven year olds they looked like, they disappeared with a pop.

A half hour later, Teddy looked at Victoire and frowned. "How was this ever fun, all this bloody walking. Honestly, have you ever heard of such shite, and the ruddy candy is barely worth the effort of moving from one house to the next! Pure bollocks" he moaned. A woman holding the hand of her small daughter looked back at Victoire and gave her a dirty look and Victoire remembered that children age didn't swear like sailors. She raised her eyebrows at Teddy while he continued his rant.

"THEODORE, language," she scolded using her best grown up tone that she could manage with her eleven year old voice.

"Come on Tor! We can think of something better than this, like, perhaps we could transfigure our appearances and just keep going to the same house or two. That one house back there gave a very good amount of chocolate. We should go back," he said. He morphed his face into that of an entirely different looking child and grinned. "TWICK O TWEET!" he said in his most obnoxious non-Teddy voice.

"You know Lupin, that might be a good idea."

"See Weasley, there's a reason we're friends," he said waving his wand and changing their costumes from a princes and a little prince to a cowboy and a fairy. "I come up with all the great ideas and am the clever one."

"What does that make me?"

"The one who stands there and looks pretty," he joked as they approached the door. "TRICK OR TREAT!" they chimed and received their candy. They then walked back down the path and ducked behind the fence before changing costumes and looks. This was as easy as stealing candy from a muggle, oh, wait, that is what they were doing after all.

Finally after an hour or so of "trick or treating" and getting quite the stash of candy, two giant pillowcases full, they two apparated back to the party as their normal selves. Victoire frowned at the hideous pumpkin dress. They were laughing as they walked back into the big party to see that the wedding guests were all a few degrees drunker than an hour ago. Walking to an abandoned table, they both poured their respective candy hordes onto the table and began trading things.

"Aw, come on Vic, you don't even like almonds, just give em to me, I don't see why you have to have something in return for something you don't like at all!" said Teddy.

"Well, they are gross, I hate nuts. Mostly, with the exception of those in my family," she laughed. "But, I should get something in return. I'm not going to just give them all to you! Give me your marshmello thingys."

"But I like those!"

"You like nuts better!"

"Hello Ted, Victoire," came a voice causing both arguing youths to look up into the smiling green eyes of Harold James Potter.

"Harry!" laughed Teddy hugging his godfather as Victoire grinned at her uncle.

"What are you doing here?" asked Victoire with a smile.

"Well, apparently there are some wizards out tonight making Halloween trouble for the muggles. As if the pranks weren't enough, apparently someone detected some suspicious magic and thinks there are some children that aren't really children running around muggle London stealing candy from muggles. Disguising with magic or something. Had to call in reinforcements, and I knew James would be here and thought he could investigate the scene of the crime for me and clear up that case while I work on some exploding pumpkins in Surrey. But, since I saw you guys, I thought I would stop and say hi." Harry gave them both pointed looks, clearly saying, I believe I know what you're up to.

"Well, as nice as that sounds," said Teddy hastily shoving all of his candy into his pillowcase in one swift movement and getting up from the table. "I believe that I need to go speak with Murphy. I promised that I would speak with one of his friends about the differences between humans and goblins and the importance of taking these species specifics when dealing with a inter-race relationship." And before Harry or Victoire could blink, he was gone. Harry looked at Victoire with a grin. GREAT, she was screwed. He may as well have just said he needed to fly to Venus on a unicorn and retrieve the lost scrolls of Aramais because that would be more believable.

"Oh look Uncle Harry, ShiShi is going to cut the cake, and I need to be over there, and yeah, don't bother looking for the people stealing the muggle's candy, that was me and Teddy and we're sorry and no one has to know right, well the cake should be good so why don't you get a piece of the chocolate, it's the best, I know because I picked it out," she said disappearing rapidly after her jumbled confession. She never could keep her mouth shut to her uncle.

He was smiling however as he watched her go. He had never really been on duty tonight and was actually a friend of the groom's mother, Cho Chang Lee. He had merely wanted to watch his niece and godson squirm. They had looked like they were having quite a bit of fun though.

Later that night, Ted and Vic apparated back to London together so that Teddy could walk Victoire home. Both swinging their bags of muggle sweets, they munched happily on sweets on the way home, catching up on the month since they had seen each other at Andi's wedding.

"Teddy, Tanya is getting married on the twenty fourth, do you think you could make it home for her wedding?" she asked as they reached her apartment.

"Errr, I could try," he said with a thoughtful look.

"Well, maybe you could be my date of sorts, I mean, just my friend, who comes as my date, not an actual date, but, I don't want to go alone. And maybe, you could not be Teddy Lupin, but uhh… someone that they don't think was my pity date, just friend date? Because if we go together, everyone will think, oh, they are just friends and still feel sorry for me as the Veela who can't get a date, and needs a man in her life. And I really don't, but I hate the looks. And, if you don't want to this was stupid to ask you, I'm sorry."

"Vic," he said interrupting her tirade. "I'll be your date, my name's Fredrick, known as Fred or Freddie Girard, from France, I work in the Ministry in France and you met me one summer you went to visit your grandparents. Any other details you make up about me should be sent via owl to me in Egypt so I know who I'm supposed to be," said Teddy morphing his features into a thin faces but quite handsome black haired man with a long slender if pointy nose and dark brown eyes.

"Teddy, you are the sweetest man alive, I love you so much!" she said hugging him happily and kissing him on each cheek. Teddy grinned over her shoulder before she went inside, still thanking him and saying goodbye until the wedding or the next time he was in England. Victoire's disguise date was better than Victoire's not date or Victoire brining someone else as a date. What a delicious night. Chocolate and kisses, if only on the cheek.

**Big thanks to: Not Hopeless Anymore, angelauthor14, Abi Collins, Liby, GraceAbbene, Dumbledore is NOT gay, and Miss Showbiz. Yeah! I updated beacause you are all AMAZING!! THANKS FOR REVIEWING!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!! Anyways, hope you liked this chapter, and please review!! I should be able to write another chapter by Sunday, and perhaps can update then -especially if I get seven reviews(52)! So, do review (HINT)!!! I'll be working hard and hope to hear from you! Preview of next chapter is that it's not another wedding yet... lol. BTW, not-hopeless-anymore have fun at prom, hopefully it isn't too horrible!**

**Ellie  
**


	8. Freddie Girard

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter and please review this one! Finally got 52 Reviews and I'm ready to update too!! YEAH!!! And it's long!!! YEAH!!!! Get me 5 more by Friday and I'll update again. I already have the majority of the chapter written, perhaps a 1/2 page more and it's done. I'm really starting to crank out the chapters since it's summer... so review more too!**

The day after ShiShi's wedding was quite horrible. For one, ShiShi had been married on a Wednesday, and it was not yet the weekend. Everyone had to go back to work. Everyone but Teddy Lupin, who was staying until the next Monday. This was quite lucky for him as after dropping Vic off, he had returned home to the shack to meet up with the other three marauders who were getting drunk off their arses and then sneaking to the sixth year village and TPing Albus's and Scorpius and Rose's yards. Using disillusionment charms and James' invisibility cloak, they had taken a good amount of toilet paper and using levitating charms and sticking charms, they had made quite the mess for the sixth years to pick up in the morning. Afterward, they had morphed into their respective Animagi, and played some hide and seek in the forbidden forest.

The marauders had returned home to The Sanctum around five in the morning, and crashed in the kitchen like they had in years past. Unfortunately, Ellie's owl with a breakfast package had awoken them not much later at around seven thirty. A very tired Orion and James had managed to leave for the ministry by eight, while Murphy didn't have to be at practice until ten. Ever Lucky Lupin had been able to sleep in till noon, before getting up and deciding what to do with himself for the day.

Deciding to go to his gran's house, he put on his turquoise jumper with the bright pink T on it that Grandma Weasley made for him annually. It was a bit chilly today, odd considering how much warmer it had been the day before. In any case, he decided to try and make it for tea, getting to his gran's house by three.

Opening the door, his grandmother, with her black hair almost entirely grey, began to say, "You're so early today, did work get off early Vict… Teddy!" She embraced him in a suffocating hug before looking him over. "My my my, you've gotten taller _again_! That Weasley sweater is looking a bit small! Yes, don't pretend that you didn't roll up those sleeves to hide the fact! I can tell it's too short! You're really sprouting up, must be the Egyptian climate! Come in, come in, I thought you were Victoire. She comes over on Thursdays, but not usually until four. It's a late tea time. But, we always catch up. Have you seen Vicky since you came home?"

"Yes, last night at the wedding I was in," replied Teddy as he followed his grandmother into the kitchen. She was baking strawberry tarts, his and Victoire's favorite. Reaching for one of the ones she had just finished, he received a hand slap.

"These are for Vicky. She's been so depressed lately, I wanted to make these to cheer her up, but I think seeing you will help too," scolded his Gran. "All these weddings, she told me about the one last night, she wasn't looking forward to it much. Apparently the dress was hideous, and she is sad because her room mate ShiShi is moving out now. She said the extra company was nice when ShiShi moved in after Sarah married the Weber boy."

"Yeah, I doubt she's looking forward to Elaine's wedding. Then she'll be alone in the apartment," commented Teddy, still trying to sneak a tart off the tray without his grandmother noticing.

"She got a little teary last week when that came up. She is so worried about it, but she can't bring herself to tell Elaine how upset she is over the prospect of living alone. She doesn't want to ruin her friend's happiness. She's such a dear, planning all of her friend's weddings. I'm just worried that she's neglecting herself. She isn't seeing anyone. She barely goes out with her friends. I think that Thursday afternoon teas and Sunday dinners are her only real social excursions and they don't count because they are family things. I think she goes to Bill and Fleur's on Tuesdays. I don't really know."

"Poor Vic," commented Ted around a mouth full of strawberry tart.

"Yeah, how long are you here? Perhaps you could spend some time with her this weekend. Cheer her up a bit, make her laugh. She always has a great time with you, and she could really use some quality time with a friend who understands what she's going through. You are one of her oldest friends."

"Mhm," said Teddy swallowing the sweet that he had crammed in his mouth. "I'll see if she wants some Chinese food. Haven't had some good Chinese since I went to Egypt. I could really use some delicious Kung Pow Chicken and Almond Chicken, and ohh, those eggrolls!"

"She'd love that Tedders," said Andromeda smiling happily. "You can ask her when she gets here. She should be soon."

Suddenly, as if the owl had timed it perfectly, there was a rapping at the window and a big brown owl on the sill. Opening the window, Andromeda took the letter and frowned slightly as she read it before handing the owl a treat and sending it off with a short reply that she scratched out quickly on the back of a spare piece of parchment.

"Well, she said that her friend Tanya met up with her and Elaine after work and begged them to go look for dresses for her wedding. She apparently had planned to go dress shopping next Monday, but now Tanya has to be back by Saturday in Russia. Victoire asked if instead of tea, she could come for dinner around six or seven. If she's planning yet another wedding…" Andromeda said with a slight crease of worry between her brows.

"She is, our friend Tanya asked her to help last night. She wants to get married in three weeks, but she's living in Russia and can't be England to arrange things. Elaine and Victoire are doing everything for her."

"Hmm… well, let's go have some tea before I make some dinner. We'll catch up on everything you've been doing in Egypt. Then, you can help me make spaghetti. Vicky always did like my spaghetti when you two were little." Teddy smiled remembering how he and Victoire had always begged for Spaghetti which his grandmother cooked to perfection. Yum.

* * *

A few hours later, Teddy was covered in flour, and laughing with his grandmother as he stirred the pasta sauce and she did all of the other harder jobs that he had been deemed too clumsy to perform. "You look ridiculous with that long hair!" laughed Andromeda. Suddenly they heard the front door open and the clunk of a bag being dropped next to the door.

"Granny Tonks?" came a voice from the entry. "Sorry I'm so late, Tanya had us pick out our dresses and her dress. But really, it was her picking out everything. They're hideous. Absolutely hideous. I swear, they are worse than the pink and purple ones I showed you! They're red and gold and traditional Russian type dresses with and undershirt and then an outer layer with two sleeves and then this outer apron type over that which is the entire dress, and then we have these hat things, Russian kokoshniks, that are pointy with beads on them, and we have to wear them. And oh, it's going to be horrible. These traditional dresses and the hats… we will look like total freaks to everyone English at this wonderful wedding! Are you making spaghetti?" She walked into the room, her long blond hair in a pony tail that was flipped out at the end, wearing jeans and a bright pink sweater with a yellow V on it. She being the first non redhead girl in the family had gotten the pink sweater.

"Yup, spaghetti with strawberry tarts for dessert," said Andromeda stirring the noodles while Teddy smiled at Victoire from his sauce stirring station.

"TEDDY!" shrieked Victoire finally noticing the tall brunette. Running over to him, she engulfed him in a big floury hug, a little of the white powder coming off of his sweater and onto hers.

"Well don't you too look cute, both in your Weasley Jumpers, covered in flower, and grinning just like you used to as children. I want a picture," laughed Andromeda as she strained the spaghetti. "Vicky, why don't you set the table while Tedders here helps me finish up the dinner?" Victoire smiled and jumped to do the older woman's bidding, whisking the plates and silverware from their respective drawers like an expert and striding into the dining room.

"That's funny that we both wore our jumpers today," commented Victoire. "I thought it was comfy and I needed something comfy after my late night last night."

"Yeah, I don't get to wear warm stuff like this in Egypt, so it's nice to wear it," replied Teddy.

"Victoire, I think that we need another opinion. Don't you think that Ted should cut his hair? This pony tail doesn't suit him, next thing you know it will be tattoos and peircings."

"Gran, I told you, all of the curse breakers have long hair," groaned Teddy bringing the food into the other room as they sat around the table and began serving out their dinners.

"Well, my dad has long hair, so I don't really mind it," replied Victoire spooning a large helping of spaghetti onto her plate. "But then again, maybe you should set a new trend."

"I like the long hair, I think it suits my face," joked Teddy. "The earring though is a good idea Gran."

"Goodness, I never should have given you the idea," complained Andromeda going back into the kitchen looking for some wine to go with the dinner.

While she was out of the room, Victoire leaned toward Teddy and said in a lowered voice, "For what it's worth, I like the long hair, quite rugged and mysterious." Teddy laughed and waggled his eyebrows at her mischievously, causing her to laugh as Andromeda returned to the room carrying a bottle of wine that both would decline politely. Dinner continued happily as they all joked and caught up. Victoire complained about the weddings while Teddy discussed a werewolf legend that he had begun translating, he said that the story seemed as if it was nearly over, but the ruins were much longer. He didn't know what they translated to. Andromeda laughed about her card clubs, her old lady friends, and mentioned some boxes of their things that she had found a few weeks ago.

This had prompted the bringing of the said boxes into the parlor to look through while they ate their tarts with after dinner coffee and tea. They had laughed over the costumes they had created to play different games, the royal headdress that Victoire had worn when she played the princess who had been locked in the tower by the evil wizard James. The sword of Gryffindor that Sir Theodore had used to defeat Wizard James, and the picture of them all in their costumes were all hilarious. They had found some pictures that they had drawn on several rainy days, the rules they had posted in their attic clubhouse, the clay models they had made when they were eight, and their first, and in Victoire's case only, brooms.

After their after dinner tea, Teddy and Victoire had offered to clean up the kitchen while Gran Tonks listened to her favorite wireless program. Laughing and having bubble wars, the two had washed the dishes and took care of the mess.

"This was fun," said Victoire getting her bags together to leave. "You really should come home more often, we miss you when you're in Egypt all the time."

"Yeah, this was great, I miss you guys all the time. It's really hard not knowing anyone and being so far away," commented Teddy. "But, I'm here until Monday, so how about we go for Chinese food tomorrow? I'll pick you up and we can go out to that place a few blocks over. The place with the really great eggrolls!"

"Oh, that sounds fabulous, but I have a ton of bloody wedding stuff to do with Tanya because she's leaving on Saturday morning. It will have to be after that. I'm getting off work a bit early and so we should be done about seven. I'll owl you if we're going to be later, but you can hang around the apartment if you have to. The spare key is the front mat, it's just transfigured to look like a door mat. James did it for us considering how shite Ellie and I both are at Transfiguration."

"Sounds good, I'll go to your place to pick you up about seven then," said Teddy as they both went to the parlor to wish Gran Tonks goodnight.

* * *

The next night, Teddy got to Vic's apartment at seven on the dot. He rang the bell twice and when no one answered he let himself in with the key. Walking into her apartment was very strange. With her sunny presence absent, the apartment seemed darker and not nearly as welcoming as it always did. In the kitchen where he decided to station himself, he was surprised to find an overwhelming amount of wedding planning material. The table was covered in wedding magazines and the walls were covered in clippings of things that apparently were liked. There were swatches of fabric and different flowers lying about on the chairs. There were various examples of centerpieces. All of it seemed a bit scary to Teddy so he retreated into the greenhouse room. Relaxing, he set himself in a chair, looking out the window at the London scene at twilight.

Not long after, an owl came and told him that she would be a bit later as they ran into some problems with the caterer, but she would be home by eight. He could tell that Vic spent a lot of time and kept the greenhouse very nice. After sitting for a while and watching the sunset, he was bored. He picked up a book that had been left on the small table next to the comfy armchair he was sitting in and began reading the title. It was a book on raising bouncing bulbs and he assured himself that he would find it quite boring but opened it, planning to read it anyways.

Opening it to the first page he was shocked. This book was not on bouncing bulbs, the first page was filled with black ink dancing across the page in Victoire's elegant swirly handwriting.

"_Tuesday August 29, 2018_

_Dear Dory,_

_Honestly, it seems like everything is falling apart around me. I can't deal with Sarah gone. She was around the least of the four of us, and now she is married and I just know already things won't be the same. And now ShiShi's getting married too, it's been eleven days and it still doesn't seem real that she's been seeing David and is going to marry him. Honestly, she's going to leave us too. She moved in today and the flat seems just as empty as before. Maybe it's because there is a void in my life that she and Ellie can't begin to fill. Sometimes I think, maybe I'll go look for a guy, and he'll be wonderful and great. But then I knock myself back into reality and realize that he can't possibly be that wonderful or that great. And everything will then return to this emptiness and I'll be plain old me alone again when our relationship goes down the tube just like all the others. Today this resident at work, Healer Roan, he's very good looking and all the nurses sleep with him and he's a total player and prat. He's been hitting on me non stop at work and he can't take that I ignore him. It's a bit like Ellie and James except I really do mean no! And he actually asked me out today, to go to dinner I think, but basically all he wanted was sex. So I told him no! And he was totally shocked that I turned him down and his ego has taken quite the blow. I hope he gives up soon because I don't want a relationship with him, he's just hitting on me for my veela looks. I want someone who wants me for me but very few can look at me and actually see me. Off the top of my head: James, Uncle Harry, Albus, Uncle George, Fred, Louis, Dad, Uncle Ron, Hugo, Uncle Percy, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Jacques, and Teddy. All of those men are related to me except Teddy. In summary, my life sucks! And these wedding plans! Honestly, ShiShi is going to kill me with how excited she is. She's SHISHI! She doesn't get excited about anything. Elaine and Sarah are the ones who get all overboard and happy and sentimental about things. She gets pissy and rude. But no, she's this bubbly bride, and I'm turned into the angsty one who is feeling horrible all the time. When did this happen? I'm Victoire, beautiful happy Victoire who never has a care in the world and moons over men she can't have which is better stated as men she's too afraid to go after! Instead I end up getting hit on by the horrible Tark Roans of the world. Honestly, what kind of name is Tarkin? Tark, errr… I think if I have to listen to one more womanizing comment from his sleazy mouth. Urg… I really needed this vent, I'm glad I remembered to stop by the bookstore and pick up a new diary today. I ran out of pages last week in the old one. Anyways. ~Vic"_

After reading that entry, Teddy felt so bad, but this was the girl he loved, and she had mentioned him once! He hadn't been able to stop himself from reading that entire page, and had grinned as she mentioned him. Especially to say they weren't related! He turned the page to read the next entry, unable to stop himself.

_"Wednesday August 30, 2018_

_Dear Dory,_

_Today I went to dinner at grandma Weasley's because she wanted to get the family together before everyone leaves on September first (at least everyone who matters, which means I'm not included in the group anymore. I think they forget I exist. Ellie had to invite me to this because James invited her but everyone forgot to tell Toire!) Anyways, it was actually pretty funny. Somehow the talk after dinner got around to people our parents had dated before they married each other. Uncle Harry got made fun of for dating Cho Chang who apparently is David Lee's mum or maybe it was his aunt. I don't remember. Uncle Charlie dated Teddy's mum, Tonks, but it didn't work out and they were better as friends. That's sad but then again, then we would never have Teddy. It's also scary to hear how they didn't work out…. And then, Uncle Ron dated Lavender Brown! Urg! That lady is horrible! Aunt Hermione was a HUGE improvement on her is all I'm saying about that! And that brings up Aunt Hermione!!! SHE DATED VICKTOR KRUM! I know his son is a huge prat, but this guy was a quidditch star, a galleonaire, an amazingly hot celebrity, who even participated in the last Triwizard tournament!! Everyone was shocked and wanted to hear all about it. This of course upset Uncle Ron quite a bit, but then little Molly ran in and shrieked about how she had just opened a chocolate frog card and had gotten Uncle Ron. This had prompted the ohh too Uncle Ron comment of "Well Krum doesn't have a chocolate frog card." Which was of course hilarious and Aunt Hermione was laughing so hard that she nearly choked on her tea, but apparently much can be said for being on a chocolate frog card in Uncle Ron's world. But, then again, I definitely like Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione quite a bit and they are so perfect for each other. I think he even likes when she screams at him, because at least she's paying attention to him. I think he told my dad once that he thinks it's sexy or something. Because my dad always makes suggestive looks in Uncle Ron's direction whenever he sees Aunt Hermione upset. I think James thinks the same thing about Ellie, but I don't tell her that. That's what I want. A man who thinks I'm attractive when I'm mad and hopping angry with him, a man that loves me no matter what and is that devoted to me that he can grin and pretend to be horrified when I scream at him. Kind of like my dad. Because when my mom gets veela claws and her nose looks beakish, I sometimes think he's secretly pleased. Sometimes I think that…"_

"THEODORE REMUS LUPIN!" came an agonized scream, interrupting Teddy's concentration on what he was reading. Looking up he saw Victoire in the doorway. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING!!?? GIVE ME MY DIARY! ARE YOU READING MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS!? DO YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR ME AND MY PRIVACY!? HOW COULD YOU?? GIVE THAT BACK!!" She stormed in a full veela temper and snatched the book out of his hands with her clawed hands. Putting her hands on her hips, he could tell she was upset. "WHAT DID YOU READ!? WHAT DAYS!"

"THE FIRST TWO PAGES!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up innocently as she stepped toward him threateningly. When veelas were upset, they could transform into birds, and she had a pointy beak but was not yet sprouting feathers. Teddy could see how Bill might think Fleur looked sexy when she was angry. Vic's eyes were really intense and she looked like some sort of beautiful wild creature. Like a unicorn, no too tame, perhaps a dragon.

"HOW COULD YOU!? YOU'RE A HORRIBLE UNTRUSTWORTHY PRAT! WHAT DID IT SAY!? WHAT DID YOU READ!?"

"Just something about Healer McSleazbag and him hitting on you, and then ShiShi being a happy bride! And your uncle Ron and Chocolate frog Cards!" he said pretending to be horrified.

"THEODORE! I AM GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR EYES AND THEN FEED THEM TO A GOAT AND THEN I'M GOING TO RIP OFF YOUR FAVORITE APPENDANGE AND FEED THAT TO A BOAR AND THEN I'LL RIP OUT YOUR HEART AND I'll… I'll EAT IT MYSELF!"

"That doesn't sound very tasty," commented Teddy.

"I'LL NEED SOY SAUCE!" she screeched. "AND ELAINE WILL HELP ME BURY YOUR BODY BEHIND THE SHRIEKING SHACK!" She continued to rant, and when he saw her taking a breath he interrupted.

"Vic, Vic, I didn't read anything important, or at least anything I don't think you would have a major problem with me knowing, and I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me and let me take you out for some Chinese food. It will make you feel better," he said. She was breathing heavily, but she seemed to pause to consider it. Huffing out a giant sigh, she finally conceded, taking in a big breath.

"There, see, all better," he said standing up. "Chinese food." She seemed to nod and he smiled reassuringly.

"Oh MERLIN!" she exclaimed grabbing her face. "DO I HAVE A BEAK?"

"Reminds me of the time I shaved the hair off your favorite doll," he said with a smile.

"I'm so embarrassed," she said in muffled tones behind her hand.

He gently pulled her hands away from her face and looked at the claws with a smile before looking back at her horrified beaked face. "I think it's cute," he said leaning in and giving her beaked nose a quick kiss.

"AHHG!" she said snatching her hands back and covering her nose as her face reddened. "I'm soo sorry! I was just so angry!"

"I'll never read your diary again," promised Teddy walking into the kitchen and picking up her handbag she had dropped in the doorway. "Let's go Veela Vic, Chinese food awaits us!" Her nose was already morphing back and she was calmer as they made their way out of the apartment to the restaurant.

An hour later, they were laughing together and discussing the horrible wedding that Vic was planning for Tanya. "And the food, it's all going to be Russian and totally disgusting to all of us English people. I was gagging at the mere smells at the caterer today! That's what took so long. I had to sit there while Tanya and Ellie tasted everything, but I coped out with the excuse I had a date with you tonight, er not a date, but a dinner meeting, as in between friends, I didn't say we were on a date, like the kind where you kiss me on my front step after, or… I'll shut up now."

"Haha, so gross food, that means we should probably plan on going out to eat after the wedding then," laughed Teddy, trying to ignore how "date like" this dinner felt.

"Yeah, so you're going to be someone I met through my Aunt Gabrielle. Perhaps you work with her husband, my uncle Jacques Marchant. He owns a shipping company in Paris. You could be one of his managers or something. Make it up, I'm sure you're a fairly good liar. And we met a couple summers ago and we keep a correspondence through letters. And yeah, you're my handsome, charming, and intelligent wedding date."

"Anything for you Vic, besides, I owe you and if it helps you forgive me."

"Okay good, and Freddie is perfect because it sounds sort of like Teddy."

"Yup, and I think I can even pull off a French Accent."

"You're too good to me, especially after I got so mad today. I'm so sorry, overreaction."

"Nah, so when does Tanya leave again?"

"Tomorrow morning, so actually I have to be the one that goes and registers her for her gifts here in England. I have to do it tomorrow too so that she's registered soon so people can buy it before the wedding. I'm finishing hand writing her invites tonight and mailing them in Diagon Alley tomorrow when I go to Harold's Magical to register her for gifts."

"That sounds fun," replied Teddy.

"More like boring as hell, I am going to look like a freak registering for a bunch of stuff I will never even see. How do I know what she wants?"

"I'll go with you if you want?" offered Teddy. "We can register her for the ugliest thing in the store!"

"You don't want to come, it will take all day and will be no fun."

"Ha! It will be great, I'll meet you in the Leaky Cauldron at nine?" he said.

"Fine, see you there, and make it nine thirty. I want to sleep in," replied Vic as she broke into her fortune cookie. "Love is for the lucky and the brave."

"All things in moderation, especially alcohol," replied Teddy, in their tradition of always reading each other their fortunes.

"I think I've had that one before," laughed Victoire. "My lucky numbers are 2, 22, 32, and 12."

"17,6,9, and 11."

* * *

"Ready to go?" asked Victoire the next morning. She had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron after Teddy and he nodded as they set out for the Post Office where she would mail the large stack of invitations she had in her bag. Then they were off to the magical branch of Harold's.

"Why does she need so many different tea pots?" asked Teddy as Victoire registered Tanya for the fourth one, this one blue and spotted. "Honestly, all you need is one!"

"Well, the first one was gold inlay, and that's the one I'll, I mean, Tanya, will use whenever yo-Vlad's grandmother comes so they can impress her. And then of course she needs one for when ShiShi and Elaine- and I- come over that's all cute and girly, for a fun tea. So that's why she needs the pink one with the jeweled hearts on it. I think Andi will buy that one. And then of course she needs a practical one for every day use, for every afternoon that y-Vladamir comes home from the office for a quick tea, so that's the third one, and this last one is just nice to have, in case one breaks or a nice tea but not too formal."

"That's a lot of bloody tea pots anyways. Don't you have to register for matching cups now too?" Teddy asked. Victoire rolled her eyes as if to say of course and they continued their registering.

* * *

That night, Victoire took her diary from her new hiding place, under her bed. Picking up the sugar quill, she sucked on the end for a moment as she started to write. After a few lines summing up the day she thought on Teddy. "_He was telling me about his morning with Orion being love sick. Apparently something about Orion being gaga and completely insane (which is nothing new as Black has always been insane!). The whole time I was trying to count all of the different colors he's ever had his hair. He was swearing how he'll never fall in love, laughing about Orion and that horrible Ophelia. I laughed at the time, but secretly I hope he's wrong. I don't think it's ever crossed his mind that I am madly in love with him, or that I could even be an option for love. It's funny because I know all of his favorite songs, and I could tell you that his favorite color is turquoise, and he hates to argue, was born on the seventeenth, his mother was beautiful, but he has his father's looks when he's not morphing, and I know all of these random facts about him. But, if someone asked me if I loved him, I'd lie. When he left tonight after tea, I wish I could have told him how every breath I breathe is for him and that every morning I wake up praying for a miracle that he'll notice me! MERLIN! AND HE ALMOST READ THIS DIARY WHERE I MOON OVER HIM DAILY! To anyone but you dearest diary, I would lie. I DO NOT LOVE THEODORE REMUS LUPIN! That is the safest reply to all questions about Teddy. Oh this is killing me! ~Vic."_

**Okay, so that's a wrap. There a few things in here I want to comment on. The first being that some ideas from this chap were from 27 dresses, but definitely not much. Just wanted to put that out there for the line about registering Tanya for the ugliest thing in the store. And then the diary entry is really close to the lyrics of Taylor Swift's I'd Lie, I love that song and it's so Teddy/Vic. Because they know each other soo well and love each other but won't admit it already!! NEXT CHAP: TANYAS WEDDING!!!! YEAH THE BIG "DATE" Please Review!! I really am sorry about posting so late, but I graduated this weekend and had a ton of grad parties along with my own. And then after that I was so partied out I threw up all the horrid food I had eaten and felt sick all night Sunday and all day on Memorial day. So, I have legit excuses. I'll update sooner next time, I'm promising. Please give me a lot of reviews though! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!! 57 and I'll update... promise!!! But I'd prefer sixty!! **

**Elaine**

**P.S. Grace really likes next chapter!!! She says it's reallllllly good. :)**


	9. The Disaster Wedding

_We learn to experience love in our families and our friends...  
this unity of new love will not be complete until you share with  
us this special day_

_We request the honor of your  
presence at  
the marriage of  
Tanya La'Monte  
to  
Vladamir Ivanov  
Saturday, November 24, 2018  
at 5:00 p.m.  
St. Andrew's Church  
Diagon Alley, London_

_Reception to Follow at La'Monte Estate_

"I can't wait to meet this mysterious Freddie!" exclaimed Andi, as they waited in line to walk down the isle. The big day was here, and they were in their traditional Russian outfits, the colors of red, white and gold, with their o- so-wonderful Russian headdresses. Tanya actually looked beautiful in her white and gold gown with the golden headdress in her blond hair and her long golden and white lace veil flowing down her back. She did look amazingly beautiful, even in the strange outfits. Vic felt like an overdressed vegetable, an asparagus perhaps. One with a pointy hat.

"Yes, he sounds so dreamy, and handsome. If I didn't know better I'd say you were actually seriously in love with the guy," laughed Ellie wiggling her eyebrows at Victoire. "But, as long as Teddy Lupin still lives and breathes… no chance of that!"

"Oh shut up, Freddie is amazing though," said Victoire thinking _if only they knew_.

"If I didn't know better, the way you've been so excited about him coming and everything, I would say he IS Teddy. But, if it was Teddy, James would know, and Teddy would be at their house and all, so, I know it's not him." Victoire smiled that Teddy had thought to stay with his gran. Luckily, the wedding march began playing, saving her from having to respond.

The ceremony was obnoxious from the start. There were two priests, one Russian, and the other English. The ceremony was bilingual so that the Russians could understand it too. Therefore, the wedding too twice as long as everything had to be said twice. Victoire's feet were already in horrible pain by the time the ceremony was over. She couldn't stand for too long in the horrible shoes that had been picked out for her to wear, they pinched something terrible.

By the time the lengthy ceremony was over, she was afraid she already had blisters. She should have worn these stupid shoes at least once before to get accustomed to them, but they were ugly and she didn't have anything that went with them. Finally, they walked back down the isle, but she was practically limping by then.

After pictures, she apparated to the La'Monte home where Tanya's reception was being held and looked around nervously. Teddy had said he would be wearing a sleek set of black robes, and that his hair would be dark, he would have a skinny mustache, and he would find her. Ohh, she hoped this looked real. It had to!

Suddenly, a tall man with a great tan, slicked back, yet very attractive, black hair, sculpted cheek bones, a slender straight nose, handsome (also his natural color) blue eyes, and a perfect (almost natural) smile. It was not a rugged handsome that Teddy usually carried, but instead a very refined handsome that made him look like a part veela French aristocrat. The delicate mustache was stylish, yet looked somewhat ridiculous when she thought of it on his natural face. He was gorgeous to about every woman in the room except her who couldn't help but compare him to his usual self. Ellie nudged her in the side as he approached and engulfed her in a big hug, kissing her on either cheek before kissing her forehead.

"Victoire!" he said in a decidedly French and refined accent. "You are as beautiful as ever! And who is your friend?"

"This is Elaine, she's engaged to my cousin James Potter," answered Vic with a secret smile that Teddy Lupin had kissed her. "Elaine, this is Freddie Girard, my date."

"So nice to meet you! Victoire has spoken nothing but good things about you constantly since you told her you could come!" said Elaine offering her hand for "Freddie" to shake but he instead took it and kissed it with a grin that only Victoire knew was meant to show that he was enjoying infuriating James. James was meanwhile standing behind him fuming. Only Teddy would know that though.

"James Potter, surely not the son of 'arry Potter, I didn't know you were related to someone so famous Vic. 'ow wonderful, I must meet 'im," Teddy gave Victoire a decidedly steamy look and she almost melted. He was a great actor! The looks he was giving her were making every woman in the room jealous, with the possible exceptions of Elaine and Tanya and a few other very happily married women. Emphasis on the very.

"Yes, James Potter, nice to meet you, Fruity," said James angrily stepping from behind him and shaking his hand gruffly after pulling his hand away from Elaine's.

"Freddie," corrected Teddy with a grin, pretending to be awed by James' celebrity status. "So nice to meet you! You look just like your father!" James hated this, and he made a face of displeasure as Teddy hid one of laughter. Victoire was about to laugh and Teddy knew it. "Vic, you must come try this champagne, I'll get you a glass come," he said turning and pulling her away before she gave away the act. James raised an eyebrow and watched the two leave. He was often categorized as a typical male- unobservant, dense, and ill mannered, but James Potter was never considered dumb.

"James totally knows something is up," laughed Teddy as they made their way to the chocolate fountain, ignoring the champagne which neither would drink.

"He's JAMES, he doesn't know anything," protested Victoire. "Just you keep this up, you're doing great, and we'll eat dinner, you at your table, send me some more of those looks where you seem really into me… that's really believable. And then we'll dance and you act like you can't keep your hands off me and we'll blow this joint right after they cut the cake. We'll grab the cake and go! Then to some all you can eat, twenty four hour Chinese buffet downtown or something. YUM!"

Teddy laughed, but really, this acting was super easy. He didn't have to hide that he was undressing her with his eyes when he looked at her, and really, it was so hard to keep his hands off her normally, this would be easy to stop himself from stopping himself. Grinning, he dipped a strawberry in the chocolate fountain and held it up to her mouth. Taking the hint, Victoire ate it out of his hands and he grinned at the jealous looks. This was too easy.

Much too much time later, the speeches were finally over. Vladamir's best man speech had taken forever and it had been translated into English so that everyone could understand. Like the English had cared! The same had been done for Andi's speech, translating it into Russian at a much too slow rate by Tanya. Vic thought that perhaps Tanya was editing the speech as she translated. Andi was going on a bit too much about pink.

In any case, the speeches took forever, and then she was off to find Teddy/Freddie. "Victoire! Wait, I want to meet your mystery man!" exclaimed Tanya as Victoire tried to escape the rest of the wedding party. Vic groaned.

"'ello," said Teddy, arriving at Victoire's and Tanya's sides. "I'm Freddie Girard, wonderful wedding, you look beautiful. The best 'appiness to your and your 'usband."

"Why thank you," said Tanya blushing at the handsome man's comments. "So you are French, I speak French." She then proceeded to rattle something off in French which Victoire knew that Teddy had no idea what it meant. What she had said though, was "What part of France are you from?"

"He's from Paris, works with my uncle Jacques," answered Toire for him, causing Teddy to smile in relief.

"Oh, you ruin all my fun," replied Tanya in French.

"I've got a game. Freddie here speaks Veela too, so how about we have him reply to your French in Veela and I'll play translator," said Victoire hoping that Teddy would catch on.

"Oh PERFECT!" exclaimed Tanya happily. She was always up to hear and experience a new language.

"Kasd fvara kov non ridch doud ouid shute ouip wvad dua ell vic," said Teddy with a pointed look at Victoire.

"He said, 'I really liked the theme to your wedding, it is very traditional."

"Why thank you, Victoire planned it all, and did a wonderful job, isn't she the greatest!" replied Tanya in French and so Teddy, not knowing what she said all made up some more goobly goop.

"Tuke ran abababa tukin napin rabbid larjavta warkavbra gedd mi avar de ter!Glabno tramtur qavnob babnol crabitydavity blavkis? Tordidliv quidnov hogbard snogbiv"

"Yes, she did do well, but she's wonderful and I know that. Why do you think I'm her date? She's the most wonderful witch I've ever met and I'd.." Victoire paused and inserted a blush at this point. "I'd like to go snog her now, so please excuse us."

"Oh, my, Toire, you go right on, I really enjoyed speaking with you Freddie, nice to meet you! Bye now! By the way, I really want to speak some more Veela with you sometime Toire, or do you just translate?"

"I just translate, it's very hard to wrap my tongue around some of those words," replied Victoire.

"Well, he must be very good with his tongue," whispered Tanya quickly in Victoire's ear with a grin before letting them get away. Victoire blushed and she was pretty sure that Teddy had heard too because he looked a little shocked when she saw him a few minutes later. She had turned around and found him entirely gone.

"What's wrong," she said when she found him by the chocolate fountain. "We're supposed to be dancing and acting like we lurv each other so much we can't keep it a secret."

"I just ran into Orion's girlfriend Ophelia. She was all over me, hitting on me like there was no tomorrow. She gave me her address and even implied I could come over tonight! She said she had a free night whenever I did, and she would move mountains in her schedule for a date with me. She of course said this all flirtatiously and any single guy would have fallen for it. But, she's not a single woman, and she's not going to cheat on Orion with me, I'm appalled! What do I tell my lovesick friend?"

"What!" exclaimed Victoire. "She asked you out!?"

"Yeah, I can't believe it either! She seems happy with Orion as her puppy!"

Suddenly, there was a loud clearing of someone's throat. "Hi everyone, I know a lot of you don't know me, but I'm a good friend of Tanya's from school, Orion Black, and I'd like to make an announcement." Orion stood up on the stage and had his wand with a sonorous charm that he was speaking into. Tanya was standing by his side looking excited, while Andi was there too. James was in the background looking supportive, and Elaine at his side with a smile.

"Oh Merlin, this won't end well, I have to tell him she's a cheating slag before he proposes!" moaned Teddy.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Victoire shocked. "NO! ORION!? Perpetual bachelor?! NO!" Teddy merely nodded, a sick look on his face as Orion continued on.

"Many of you know that I've been seeing a very special witch here for the past few months. She's absolutely amazing, and I can't stop thinking about her night and day. She's everything I've ever wanted in a woman, smart, funny, beautiful, and loving. PhePhe, could you come up here?" A green looking Opehlia was pushed up to the front by a crowd of friends and family who knew what was going on.

"Ophelia Rossi, you have been such a wonderful person and a light in my life, and I couldn't imagine life without you in it any longer, I need you with me forever. Grant me this wish and be mine forever? Will you marry me?" asked Orion going down on bended knee in front of the entire room.

However, before Ophelia could grin or shed a happy tear, a loud shout rang out across the room. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU BASTARD, BLACK!" Orion shot up from his knee, indignant at the comment. Searching for the person who said it. "PROPOSING TO MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"Your girlfriend!" exclaimed Orion angrily. "She's my girlfriend, get out of dream land idiot!"

"You're both wrong, she's my girlfriend, and whoever is up there is an imposter!" shouted another voice from across the room causing everyone to turn at look in the direction, a path clearing so that all three men could be seen. The third was standing next to a second Ophelia who was wearing the same black dress and holding a glass of champagne in a shaking hand. The other one look nervous and oddly uncollected for her.

"I've been dating her for a year, and she LIVES with me! There is no possible way for her to be slagging off with you two halfwits!" called the first man.

"Yeah, well she spends almost every hour she isn't at work with ME!" shouted the second man. Orion looked confused and decided to put his two cents in.

"She spends hours every day with me! And she writes me owls all the time! I know because I get in trouble from my supervisor at work about twenty times a day! And my room mates can't stand it!"

"AND YOU'RE ALL BEING PLAYED FOR FOOLS BECAUSE I WAS MARRIED TO THAT BITCH FOR THREE MONTHS BEFORE I REALIZED WHAT SHE DOES! SHE HAS THIS THING CALLED A _TIMETURNER_ AND SHE USES IT TO TRAP MEN! AND SHE MARRIES YOU, AND THEN DIVORCES YOU TO SUPPORT HER SHOPPING ADDICTION AND HER ADDICTION TO MONEY. SHE'S A CRIMINAL SHE IS! DON'T MARRY HER OR YOU'LL BE SINGLE WITH HALF YOUR STUFF IN A FEW MERE MONTHS! I'M GUESSING YOU AREN'T EVEN THE ONLY ONES SHE'S DATING RIGHT NOW! SHE USUALLY HAS ABOUT TEN OF HERSELF RUNNING AROUND AT ANY GIVEN TIME AND I'VE BEEN JUST WAITING FOR HER TO GET CAUGHT UP IN TIME AN UNABLE TO SAVE HERSELF! PLEASE TELL ME THAT SOMEONE HAS A TIME FREEZING GADGET THAT WE CAN MAKE HER UNABLE TO FIX THIS BLUNDER! OH WAIT! I DO!" He set off a device that would prevent her from changing the time, and smiled. "I've got you now Phelia. Enjoy Azcaban."

Orion looked shocked, as did most of the guests. The ones who didn't look shocked were those who didn't speak English. Tanya didn't even bother trying to translate. What a horrible woman. Orion turned to James and looked devastated. The only woman he had ever loved, and she was a lying bitch! He apparated, and James and Elaine followed suit, hoping to help their friend. Vic knew that Teddy would do anything to be there for his friend, but it would blow his cover, and he couldn't. Instead, they watched as Aurors showed up and took the three Ophelias that had attended the wedding, the third being in the loo, into custody.

Before long, the wedding guests had forgotten the diabolical and were once again happily dancing and drinking and celebrating. Vic and "Freddie" put on quite the show as they danced. Teddy made sure to keep his hands placed intimately low on her back and his lips constantly hovering between her ear and her neck. For her part, Vic couldn't keep her hands out of Teddy's soft hair, messing up the sophisticated style quite a bit and laughing whenever his mustache tickled her.

Finally grabbing cake, they apparated away after giving their best wishes to Vlad and Tanya. They grabbed some take out and went to Victoire's house to find a note from Elaine that she would be with James trying to help Orion out. She was going to try and cook him all of his favorite things to cheer him up. Elaine had been introduced to their house only last week, but she didn't know it was the shack, she was only allowed inside and had to leave and enter via floo. Vic still wasn't allowed.

They ate their food quickly, deciding that they would pretend that Victoire had owled Teddy with the news and told him to come home immediately as an emergency. He would show up in the quickest amount of time possible, about five hours after the event. Egypt was far, but if she had used the right kind of owl. It was possible.

"My feet hurt sooo bad," whined Victoire after they had finished their Chinese food, both disappointed that there was no fortune cookies. "They are still red and I took off those cursed shoes a half hour ago when we got here!"

"Don't they have cushioning charms for that?" asked Teddy.

"Mhm, built into the shoes, but these ones sucked! Honestly, there are no extra spells I can really do if they were wizard shoes to begin with. That's one thing to add to my wedding list. Muggle shoes so you can do good cushioning charms to them without other spells being on there already. It works better if you do it yourself and then the charm goes to your feet perfectly. This is horrid!"

"I'll massage your feet for you, Vic," offered Teddy. Victoire gave him a questioning look, but realizing he was serious took him up on the offer.

"This is almost like a real wedding date, you danced with me, you made everyone jealous, you got me take out after the food sucked, you massage my feet, the only thing we aren't going to do is the post wedding shag!" she laughed as he massaged the circulation back into her feet. "This is wonderful," she said with a sigh.

"Well, I guess I'll just take a raincheck on the last one," laughed Teddy. He was very very glad that Vic had asked him to be her wedding date, and not some other jerk who would have taken her up on the last one. Not that he thought she would do that. She wasn't a slag like Ophelia. After he had restored her poor feet to working condition, he smiled at the relaxed look on her face and sent her to bed. "You need to sleep, Vic, I'm sure when I get there, James will send Elaine home. Thanks for letting me come, it was all really fun, especially the Veela language with Tanya." He looked at her, not moving from her place on the couch. "Vic?" He sighed when she didn't respond and picked her up and carried her to her room where he placed her in her bed still in the dress so he didn't cover her up, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before apparating away.

"TEDDY!" exclaimed Elaine as he apparated into the kitchen to find her making a large stack of pancakes. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Vic owled me," he said. "Rush Floo Owl, cost a ton, but it got there quick enough. I'm here, what's the emergency?" James and a red eyed messy haired Orion entered the room with Murphy's tall form supporting Orion. A wave of firewhiskey washed over the room and Elaine wrinkled her nose.

"Well, if Teddy's here, you had better go take care of Vic then," said James to Elaine, directing that it was okay for her to leave. Elaine smiled at her fiancé and went to the fireplace to floo away after kissing him goodbye. Teddy looked away politely while Orion stared.

"WHAT THE HELL JAMES!! YOU NEED TO DUMP THAT BROAD! ALL WOMEN ARE TROUBLE, AND HEARTBREAKING BITCHES!" he exclaimed violently as soon as Elaine disappeared. This was going to be a long night.

"WITCHES CAN'T BE TRUSTED, THEY COULD BE USING A TIMETURNER TO TWO TIME ON YOU OR USING VEELA CHARM ON YOU, NO WONDER YOU'RE SO INFATUATED WITH VIC, TEDDY… OR THEY COULD BE POURING LOVE POTIONS INTO YOUR PUMPKIN JUICE!!! BY MERLIN!!! I'VE FIGURED IT OUT!!! THAT'S WHY YOU'VE BEEN SO OVER THE MOON FOR ELAINE ALL THIS TIME… THAT WITCH HAS ALWAYS BEEN SUSPICIOUSLY GOOD AT POTIONS!! SHE'S BEEN GIVING YOU LOVE POTION JAMES!! EVER SINCE WE WERE IN THIRD YEAR OR SO AND YOU STARTED LIKING HER… OF COURSE SHE STARTED SUBTLY,SMALL, WEAK DOSES… BUT OHH NO, SHE HASN'T FOOLED ME!!! I SHALL GO BREW YOU AN ANIDOTE!!! COME WITH ME MURPHY… I NEVER WAS SO GREAT AT POTIONS… YOU STAY HERE… AND SOON YOUR LITTLE LOVE PROBLEM WITH A CERTAIN BRUNETTE WILL BE OVER!!!"

Teddy looked at James who looked annoyed as Orion with a frenzied look in his eyes grabbed Murphy and raced up the stairs screaming "TO THE SECRET UNDERGROUND POTIONS LAB!!"

"He does realize that an underground lab should be… well… underground… and that well… he just yelled that loud enough for all of Hogsmeade to hear…" replied Teddy dryly.

"I DON'T HAVE A LOVE PROBLEM!!!" exclaimed James looking upset and crossing his arms in a huff.

"Of course you don't… and do you really think that Vic has me under a veela spell?"

"Not bloody likely… that's Orion and his overactive imagination."

"Well… his girlfriend did just turn out to be a timeturning two timer…" said Teddy, breaking off as Orion's pounding feet could once again be heard.

"I'M BACK! AND JAMES, I TOOK THE LIBERTY OF WRITING YOUR BREAK UP LETTER WITH ELAINE, CALLING OFF THE ENGAGEMENT AND TELLING HER YOU FIGURED OUT SHE WAS DRUGGING YOU BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE!" shrieked Orion running back down the stairs and waving a piece of parchment in his hand while sloshing the contents of a clear cup of orange liquid giving off purple smoke. From his voice, it was obvious that Orion believed everything he was saying, and he was quite pleased with himself for discovering Elaine's ploy. Murphy followed behind looking annoyed. "MURPY BREWED THIS FOR ME WHILE I WROTE… JUST SIGN HERE!!!" He held out a pen and shoved the cup in front of James' face.

"It's safe… just pumpkin juice with a purple smoke spell," mouthed Murphy behind his hand while Orion jumped up and down gleefully with the quill in hand.

"SIGN!!" he demanded in an utterly terrifying throaty voice that was reserved for serial killers and horror villians.

"How about I drink first and then sign… just in case I really am in love and there was no potion…" said James deciding to humor him. After all, that voice was bloody scary.

"Okay, and then we can both be bachelors together forever and nasty girls can just go away!" laughed Orion, sounding like a teenage lovesick girl as he shoved the drink in James' face. James downed the entire thing.

"O MY MERLIN! YOU WERE RIGHT! ELAINE DID HAVE ME UNDER A LOVE POTION! I CAN SEE THE ERROR OF MY WAYS NOW! GIVE ME THAT PARCHMENT AND QUILL! I MUST END THIS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" exclaimed James, his face looking shocked and angry.

"Really!!!???" exclaimed Orion grinning like a maniac.

James snatched the parchment and ripped it up before cracking the quill in half for good measure. "NO!" he snapped. "I'M PRETTY SURE I STILL LOVE ELAINE LOVY TAMORA DRIDEL SOON TO BE POTTER… DO _NOT_ SCREW THIS UP FOR ME ORION!"

"Damn…" muttered Orion darkly before brightening slightly as if he had a new idea formulating in his insane imagination. "Well maybe it was a spell…." It was a long night during which Orion not only got very crazy, but also very drunk, and at one point a bit violent. Teddy was secretly glad he hadn't missed it.

**First- THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED!!! BIG THANKS TO : Firemgae, NJsparty, babington, NOT HOPELESS ANYMORE, Funeral Of A Friend, Miss Showbiz, Grace, and Angelauthor14!! You all are the best!**

**AHHHH YEAH! I love the end... it's sooo funny... i hope u like it, because that was the last bit I wrote before I updated and that's why it took me an hour longer after I saw all your wonderful reviews!!! AHHH YOU ARE THE BEST!!!! Review more!!! PLEASE!!!! I might... might... have another chapter by Sunday... especially if you review a lot... if I don't post Sunday... probably won't be until Wednesday... we'll see... Anyways!! You are all the best... Get me lots of reviews!!! PLEASE!!! Read my author profile for some other stuff I might put up...**

**Elaine!!!!!!!**


	10. Surprise Visits & Wedding Night Apparel

**YEAH! thanks for all the reviews, and please don't forget to review this chapter! **

Teddy pulled at his long hair in frustration. That had to be one of the best parts about having long hair, when he was frustrated, it pulled better. He looked around his cluttered office and frowned again. He had an interesting apartment, it was actually two apartments joined by a secret door. Both of them were crummy little places that were barely inhabitable, but together, they made a livable space.

The main one was "Edward's" apartment. The doorway faced the front of the building, and he had three small rooms, a bedroom, bathroom and a "living space" room which he used solely as a kitchen. There wasn't space in the small main room for anything besides a small table, the oven, ice box, sink, countertops and a few cupboards. His bedroom was small and had his bed, wardrobe, and little else. The bathroom was where the two apartments connected. There was a small bathroom closet, but Teddy had used a bit of magic to create a doorway between the two apartments.

Going through the secret closet, he could enter the bathroom of the second apartment where he used the main room as a living room with a comfy couch, a muggle television, and a nice coffee table. The counters and cupboards built into room were used for storage and served as surface space when the mess in his office got to be too much. He kept two desks in the bedroom of the second apartment, one covered with his spy papers and correspondence with the Department of International Intelligence. The other one, the one he was seated in front of now was covered in ancient writings. Half of the books that were normally stored in the cupboard in the sitting room were piled around him, open to various pages and depicting runes. Besides these and various quills and crumpled balls of parchment, there was also a strew of chocolate frog wrappers, bottles of butterbeer, and a sizable stack of chocolate frog cards with a little stick note reading HUGO on them.

Looking out the window at the blinding Egyptian sun, Teddy let out a sigh and picking his wand up from the pile of books it had been sitting on, he summoned a rubbish bin from the other room. He really needed to get another one just for his office. Swiftly picking through his piles of papers he tossed the chocolate frog wrappers in the rubbish bin and then tapped the papers remaining on the desk with his wand. They formed three piles but the piles were anything but neat. He really needed to perfect that spell, when Elaine did it, she got the papers into the exact order she wanted them, and the edges lined up. Oh well, we can't all be perfect at everything he thought. Seeing an uneaten chocolate frog, he let a small smile spread across his face and popped it into his mouth, taking a cursory glance at the card. Hermione AGAIN! Her card was one of the more common ones, unlike Ron's which he was proud to say was a rarer one and more sought after because of it. Teddy tossed it into the pile of cards which he was going to give Hugo the next time he saw him, the boy collected them religiously.

Teddy looked around the still desperately messy room, contemplating if he should bother putting the butterbeer bottles in the trash or just wait until he had accumulated a few more. Hugging his trash can to his chest, he crossed the room, delicately stepping around the piles of books and the random pair of boots he hadn't seen since last Wednesday, stopping at his second desk. He picked through the trash on that desk too before waving his wand in an attempt to organize those papers too. He was just finishing stacking his books into about six piles around the room and shoving the junk that had been scattered around the floor into the corner. Now he could at least walk a bit…

Looking up, he was surprised to see an owl fly through the window. He quickly relieved the small brown owl of its letter.

_**Hi Teddy!-**_

_**Love James**_

Teddy rolled his eyes and cursed James. Of course James would send a useless letter like that. How obnoxious.

Moments after Teddy had set fire to the first letter, a second, much larger dark brown, partly black horned owl glided into the room. "Stupid prat must have nothing better to do than send me obnoxious letters. Why can't he make out with his fiancé or something equally dumb," said Teddy expecting another letter from James. Reaching for the owl, he jumped back when the thing bit him. "Stupid thing, probably wants a treat." Looking around the room he wondered if owls ate chocolate frogs. He was pretty sure there was one under his desk. "Do owls eat chocolate frogs?" he wondered aloud to himself.

"I'm pretty sure not, but I wouldn't mind one, especially after all of the insults."

Teddy whirled around whipping out his wand as he stared at James. James. James Bloody Potter. In his office.

"What the fuck!?" demanded Teddy.

"Well, since you never gave us somewhere to visit you, I took matters into my own hands. This place looks like a dump. You really need a feminine touch, honestly," commented James with a tisk as he picked up a dirty t-shirt that had been hanging from the chair. The white shirt had a mysterious orange stain that seemed to be glaring out of the fabric. "This is disgusting. No wonder you don't want visitors. You know, I have heard from Elaine that while Toire can't cook, she can keep an apartment pretty nice. Besides, you and her would rather have Chinese takeout every night." Teddy just stared as James kept the conversation up when he didn't respond. Teddy was shocked. Speachless.

"James?" he asked, still stunned.

"No, I'm sodding Voldemort…. Of course I'm James! I don't look that much like Al or my dad!" returned James exasperatedly. Moving past Teddy, he walked into the next room and surveyed it. "Merlin this is disgusting. You need a maid. Or a girlfriend. Whichever you like."

"How did you get here?" asked Teddy dumbly.

"My other animagus form. I don't know if I mentioned that I had mastered it, but yeah, I did, great big owl swooping down on you, me. I traveled to Egpyt via floo, then rented an owl to send a letter, and flew after it, following it to this place where I found you…HAHAHAHA, then I bi….EWWW I BIT YOUR HAND! ITS PROBABLY AS FILTHY AS YOUR APPARTMENT EWWWW!!!" He made a disgusted face as if he were going to throw up.

"Shut up James, why are you here?" said Teddy sitting down after clearing a spot on the couch that had been covered with newspaper. James rolled his eyes and plopped down. He frowned and then pulled out a smashed pumpkin pasty from under him. Luckily it was still in its wrapper.

"Okay, well, Orion is driving me nuts. He is becoming totally irrational about this whole thing after the Orion Becomes a Giant Yelling Neurotic Incident- O.B.G.Y.N. Incident for short. Anyways, he isn't exactly endorsing marriage anymore, at least to witches, which he still believes are the spawn of satan and cannot be trusted within an inch of their lives. He's sworn off witches, but he does endorse marriage to goats, did you read in the paper… nevermind. Not relevant and I'm getting bad mental images. Remind me never to go to the Hog's Head again and to avoid Ellie's uncle at all costs. In any case, he's not too happy about my marriage to Elaine anymore.

"I'm sure you realized that it was hard as hell to pick a best man originally. I'm so close to both you and Orion, and I've known you longer, but Orion is just like me! He's like the twin brother I never had and a much better version of Al! And, well… frankly, he would have been upset if I had chosen you as best man over him. However, in light of recent events, I'm going to ask you. Will you be my best man?"

"So basically," said Teddy after a few awkward seconds. " You flew all the way here to ask me to be your second choice best man… so second best man? Because Orion is being a prat?" James nodded looking embarrassed.

Suddenly he brightened. "Elaine is having Toire be her maid of honor! Isn't it practically sacrilegious if the best man and maid of honor don't get it on? I mean seriously, how can you turn down a chance to shag my cousin…. Ewww… you know… that sounded better in my head…"

"Yeah," replied Teddy with a laugh.

"So, will you do it?" asked James hopefully.

"I just told you yeah, and not just because I want to shag your cousin…. I also want to embarrass the hell out of you in that speech!"

"And Ellie was worried about Orion's speech!"

"You were too!" laughed Teddy. "That's why you came to me, so he doesn't have some drunken rage about how horrible marriage is and how Elaine drugged you into liking her in the first place."

"Oh yeah, anything's better than that!" moaned James at the thought of such a speech.

"ANYTHING?" asked Teddy wiggling his eyebrows. James groaned and silently cursed himself.

* * *

"So, what do you think?" asked Elaine.

"Oh, Ellie, I LOVE YOU! MORE THAN JAMES DOES!" exclaimed Victoire hugging her friend. "The style is absolutely perfect. The first dress I won't look like an idiot in! You are the best friend ever for making sure I don't look like an idiot!"

"Well, James obviously won't even think of you when I'm standing next to him, even with your veela ways," laughed Elaine as Victoire admired the floor length backless gown that Elaine had picked. It was a halter and not poufy and fell perfectly.

"It helps I'm related to him, right," joked Victoire. "So, what color, I know you aren't having a pink wedding!" laughed Victoire. The dress was a stock dress and would need to be ordered for the bridesmaids. "Lily looks terrible in pink, and she's James' sister. She doesn't have to look bad either, she's related too!"

"I want deep purple, to match my eyes. I'll be so happy, it's the happiest day of my life after all, and so I will have purple eyes."

"No you won't," said Victoire. "They will be green, that's the color they are around James, because you love him, and you are passionate about him, and he makes you angry, and lustful, and loving all at the same time. And your eyes will be green. Make the dresses emerald green!"

"You just want green because you look better in it!" Elaine shot back.

"So what, but I'm right, green will match better!"

"I doubt it, besides they are my eyes!"

"Let's test it then, we'll do a compromise! We'll have the fabric charmed with the same charm on your necklace, which is green because you are angry. And then the dresses will change with your eyes, and match, all night!"

"TOIRE YOU ARE TOO GOOD! YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS! I LOVE YOU!" exclaimed Elaine, throwing her arms around her friend.

"I know," smirked Victoire. "And we'll see what color the dresses are."

"Twenty galleons says purple," replied Elaine with a grin.

"I'm betting green," replied Toire holding out her hand with a smile.

* * *

"I love Chinese food," sighed Victoire rubbing her stomach contentedly.

"I know," laughed Teddy with a smile at her cute face.

"My fortune says, 'Do not be afraid of computers. Be afraid of the lack of them.' What _is_ a computer? What the heck!" she exclaimed. "Anyways, probably a muggle saying. My lucky numbers are 04, 11,15, 26, 34, and my speaking Chinese phrase is Dui le, It is right."

"Weird, that is weird, but mine was weird too… anyways, down to business.. the entire reason that I came half way around the world. That speech…." Replied Teddy with a grin, pulling out a piece of parchment.

* * *

"Alright, gift time!" exclaimed Andi excitedly clapping her hands together. The girls were having a bridal shower for Elaine. ShiShi Lee, Sarah Weber, Christina Dingle, Andi Wallace, Tanya Ivanova, and Victoire Weasley were the only guests, but it was a party only for close friends. Erin Lampert, the other Gryffindor girl hadn't been able to make it. Grandma Weasley and Ginny Potter were throwing another shower, but it would be more formal.

"Okay, if I eat one more piece of cake, I won't fit in my dress!" laughed Elaine. The party was in Victoire's greenhouse with cake, a few games, and lots of good food that Sarah had made. They had already played a game to see how well Ellie knew James. She knew him surprisingly well, but she got most of the questions about his childhood that Toire had made up wrong. How was she supposed to know that he had an imaginary friend named Horton when he was four.

"Open mine first!" shrieked Christina. Victoire really wondered why they had invited her. She was a bit trampish with her dyed blond hair, fake nails, overabundance of make up, scanty clothes, and shrilly voice. She was annoying at Hogwarts, and she was annoying now.

"Which one?" asked Elaine excitedly as she looked at the small pile of brightly wrapped gifts and gift bags.

"The purple and gold bag!" exclaimed Christina with a giggle. Victoire honestly couldn't stand her. Elaine picked up the bag and opened the card before turning bright red in the face. Christina giggled again. "OPEN IT! WE ALL WANT TO SEE!" she exclaimed. A very red Elaine reached into the tissue papered bag and held up a mostly see through, black negligee. Christina and the others burst into laughter as Victoire frowned. However, even Elaine was laughing as she got over her embarrassment.

"James will love that one!" exclaimed ShiShi.

"That's what I said in the card!" giggled Christina.

"Your face was priceless, open mine next!" announced ShiShi. Elaine reached for the next gift only to blush again, this time a little less, when she pulled out a floor length, silk nightgown, not nearly as revealing as the last one.

"That one's for Christmas! I got you a little hat too!" exclaimed ShiShi encouraging her to pull out the red stocking cap.

"Mine next!" demanded Sarah. Victoire was a bit shaken, two of her friends had gotten Elaine "pajamas". Elaine opened Sarah's gift to find several lacy bras and panties in green, blue, purple, and red. "Every married woman needs at least a couple sets of sexy underwear. You never know when you'll need them!" explained Sarah making everyone laugh. Victoire was still shocked. Now she really didn't want Elaine to open her gift.

"Oh MY!" laughed Elaine opening the pink package that was from Andi. Yet another negligee, this time in pink. "Even without a card, this is obviously your gift, Andi, thank you!" laughed Elaine who was now getting used to getting underwear. It was after all a bridal shower.

"Only two more, which one?" laughed Elaine picking out the pink and yellow polka dotted one from Tanya. Victoire knew that her green blue and purple package would be last. It was going to be awkward.

Elaine held up silky, transparent green "nightgown", going as far as to stand and hold it up to herself while the other girls made catcalls and joked. Victoire felt sick to her stomach and had slipped into a semi daze a few gifts ago.

"Last one!" shouted ShiShi presenting it to Elaine.

"Cute card Tor!" said Ellie after reading it. Opening the box the girls all watched as Elaine revealed a large plain box. "What could be in here?" Elaine wondered aloud. Victoire winced, thinking, "_Why am I the only one who didn't realize that the correct gift for a bridal shower is lingerie? All of the rest of them are married, or whorish, Christina, and they of course all knew. I'm so embarrassed, they are all looking at me with pitying eyes because I'm still in the V club and not getting married and didn't see Elaine's need for married woman apparel."_

"What is it?" asked Elaine pulling out the large dark wooden object with a curious look as she turned it around.

"You gave her a broken clock?" asked Christina with disgust. ShiShi didn't look impressed either.

"Umm… it's different," said Elaine, still confused as to what it was.

"It's a clock, like the one at my Grandma Molly has. You are the only hand which is why it doesn't have any name on the arrow. But see, it has all of the labels, home, mortal peril, work, school, traveling. I thought it would be nice for when you start a family and all. It's how my gran kept her children alive, well, most of them. If they were in mortal peril, she was always there to save them. And well, it's nice to know where everyone is, and I'm sorry, it's a dumb gift," rambled Toire.

"No! I love it! I didn't realize what it was, but this is really, really great Toire. I love it. James will love it too! And when we marry, his name will just appear right?"

"Yeah, but I'm sorry, I should have gotten you something… sexy… I'm sorry…"

"TOIRE! I love it. It's perfect! It's beautiful and functional," declared Elaine, but Toire could still see that the rest of the girls were looking at the gift as if it was just weird. She felt horrible, her gift was stupid, and she had spent so long picking it out, and then finding the only store in England who could custom make it for her. It was a rare novelty and had taken ages to make, and the storekeeper was saying never again, but apparently he had said the same to Grandma Molly. Weasley women and their charm. And now it wasn't even a good gift.

* * *

Teddy looked around his office scratching his neck with his quill. Where was that bloody book, he knew that it was here somewhere. He got up and began digging through the random piles of books. It was nearing midnight, and he was trying to get a few more words in before bed. He liked working late into the night, but he had to work early tomorrow.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a knocking at the door. He NEVER had guests, morphing into Edward, he went to the door of Edward's flat to answer it. Opening it wide, he looked around, seeing no one, but smiling as a slight breeze ran through from the open air hallway. Egypt was hot year round. Closing the door, he headed to the ice box to grab a bottle of firewiskey. He could use a cold drink, even if it did burn on the way down.

"Get me one too," came a voice behind him. Startled, he whirled around only to see James seated at his kitchen table. He looked like a mess.

"What the bloody hell, Potter?"

"I'm miserable, Orion's right, Ellie doesn't want me, she couldn't possibly love me, what am I doing? I can't get married! She's just going to either leave me standing at the altar or ditch me for the next bloke that comes along. Then I'll be a divorced man with half my stuff!" slurred James. He was obviously a bit drunk. And this was most likely Orion's fault.

"James Sirius Potter, Elaine loves you with everything she has. She makes you bloody breakfast every morning, she sends you the paper and circles the articles she thinks you would like in a disgustingly lovesick manner! She is bloody crazy about you and you about her! YOU ASKED HER OUT 247 BLOODY TIMES! And she said NO 246 times! She has no qualms about rejecting you and she wouldn't just drag you along. If she didn't want to marry you, she wouldn't be marrying you! Go home! I can't believe you are here whining about this of all things!"

"You really think she loves me enough to marry me? You really think she can put up with my obnoxiously pranks and jokes, my horrible table manners, my tendency to fart when I'm nervous?" asked James hopefully.

"Errr… all of them except the last one… I don't know if Ellie can handle the passing gas…" quipped Teddy as James' face fell. "OF COURSE SHE CAN! SHE'S PUT UP WITH IT FOR YEARS!"

"Oh, you're right. In fact, usually I remember to use a spell to neutralize the smell anyways."

"Exactly. She loves you and if she said yes after all the times you begged her to be yours, she means it and she loves you. These are just pre-wedding jitters. You are getting married in three days, and she will be there and look bloody beautiful and after that is your amazingly wonderful honeymoon and she'll be all yours! And really, don't question yourself James, you are James Sirius Potter, the most confident, arrogant git I've ever met, and you don't question yourself, ever!"

"You're right, I am being an idiot!" laughed James looking more like himself already.

"Yes, I am. But don't worry, you aren't nearly as bad as Frank was the night before his wedding to Sarah."

"Ha! Stupid Ravenclaw. No guts to speak of. Thanks for straightening me out Teddy. I knew I changed you to my best man for a reason. Orion suggested I escape to Tanzania before it was too late and she had left me at the altar humiliated."

"Don't listen to a word that prat says, and go home and get ready for your wedding. It's going to be the most brilliant day of your life!"

"Better than the day she finally agreed to go out with me?"

"MUCH BETTER! SHE'S AGREEING TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER!"

"Good point, Thanks again Ted! See you Thursday! Which is tomorrow I guess… that bachelor party is going to rock!"

**So first off, thanks again to those who reviewed!! Please review more. Now, to other stuff... that fortune cookie was a real one, I ate one yesterday when I wrote that part to get a fortune and that's what I got, no joke.... And so next chapter is Elaine and James' long awaited wedding. I was thinking about writing it and then posting it for both Marauders and My heart from slightly different views... then Marauders can have an epilogue... tell me what you think!! Reviews will inspire me, so tell me what you thought! Hope you liked it... Anyways... REVIEW PLEASE!!!!! **

**Elaine**


	11. The Perfect Potter Wedding

_**Hope you like it, it's the one you've been waiting for! I'm going to try to update quickly but review to make it faster! Enjoy and read the author's note at the end! REVIEW**_

* * *

_Just like a page out of a fairy tale  
the storybook romance comes true...  
He proposed to her on bended knee,  
He asked "Will you marry me?"  
Elaine Lovy Tamora Dridel  
said "Yes!" (finally) to  
James Sirius Potter who  
Together with their parents  
Ginevra Molly and Harold James Potter,  
and Adyllia Arianna Dridel,  
Invite you to share in their joy  
Saturday, the twenty-second of December  
at three o'clock in the afternoon  
Cathedral of St. Thomas  
751 Rowena Road  
Hogsmeade, Scotland_

The morning of James and Elaine's wedding, Victoire woke up very early. As maid of honor, she had a lot to do. And after Elaine's freak out last night that James would ditch her at the altar, she hadn't really gotten that much sleep. For once, she made breakfast for Elaine, granted it wasn't quite as tasty. She also ran a bath for her friend before waking her.

She was in the process of laying out some clothes for Elaine to wear to the hairdresser, when an owl flew in the window. Nearly having a heart attack when she thought it might be something wrong with the flowers, she tore apart the envelope.

**Dear Toire,**

**It's your favorite second cousin, Patrice! I'm getting married! Can you believe it? ME! Bloody married! Anyways, since your mum and my mum are cousins and we've always been moderately close, I thought it would be great if you could be in my wedding as a bridesmaid. It's lucky to have seven you know, and you're so pretty and veela like I am, that your coloring will look great with the rest of the wedding party's. But don't worry, that's not the only reason I'm asking you to be in my wedding! Be a doll and write back before Christmas! I really hope you can be in it! It won't be the same if you aren't! Love, Cousin Trice.**

**P.S. hope you did well on your HAREs. Mum told me you took them last week!**

Victoire couldn't help it. She burst into tears. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS a bridesmaid! Never a bride! She wasn't even dating anyone! That was going to have to change right away. She was NOT going to another wedding alone after this one! She couldn't hold out for Teddy any longer. He wasn't coming around. Maybe he was gay. In any case she was tired of it. Six weddings! She didn't feel like the maid of honor today. She felt like the old maid of honor. Emphasis on the old.

Wiping her tears away, she went and got dressed for the day, putting on a pair of sweats to wear while she got her hair and make up done. She couldn't let herself ruin Elaine's day. It was Elaine's big day! And it had to be perfect. Victoire smiled. She had planned it herself, it would be perfect.

She was just finishing making her bed when Elaine rushed in, still with her hair wet. "I know that they said four to six weeks, but in case our HARE results come early, you'll send me an owl with my results, right?"

"Well, James said that no one was to interrupt your honeymoon. He said unless it was classified as a level one emergency, he didn't want to hear about it. I don't think your HARE results are quite level one," said Victoire.

"Level one?" asked Elaine, panicked.

"Voldemort returned from the dead, or a death in the immediate family. Uncle Percy doesn't count either," recited Victoire with a smirk.

"Ohhhh nooo, but what if they come early!?" moaned Elaine.

"Don't worry, they won't, and I'll send them anyways. Then when you pass them, you and James can celebrate, and he won't be mad at me for sending them. Your honeymoon is going to be great, and don't worry about HAREs while you are in Bermuda. Honestly! You passed with flying colors, and if you worry about them, I'll, I'll… hex you!"

"Fine! Thanks for telling me you will owl me though," replied Elaine, looking less stressed already.

"Now, let's go get that hair done!"

The time at the hairdressers was a blur for Victoire as she helped all of her friends and her cousins get ready for the wedding.

James had wanted Uncle Charlie's children to be in the wedding because he felt that they were still shy around the rest of the family and felt they didn't fit in yet. Apparently, although Annika had been sorted into Gryffindor with Molly and Roxanne, she didn't talk to either of them, and was having a rough year in school. Molly didn't understand why Annika stopped talking whenever one of them walked into a room, but James thought it had to do with the incident at Easter and Annika feeling like she didn't belong to the family. Therefore, Annika had been chosen amongst the Weasley girl cousins to be the flower girl so that she could lead her two year old brothers, Andrew and Arthur down the aisle as they would be joint ring bearers.

Lily was excited, and bouncing off the walls while ShiShi was worried about how her hair looked as she had been growing it out and wasn't sure if she liked it yet. Sarah was talking way too much about natural family planning, and Victoire was just hoping that the headache she had right now would go away before the reception. Otherwise, she was thinking that she might rethink that whole no alcohol thing. This was just too stressful, and she wasn't even the bride.

Finally they were getting ready in the back of the church. "Oh I'm so excited to see the dresses!"exclaimed Lily whose measurements had had to be sent from Hogwarts and who hadn't seen the dress yet. "BLEH!" she said quietly as Victoire pulled the first dress out of the bag. The rest of the bridesmaids were also staring with looks of shock and horror. Elaine who had been looking out the door, turned around with wide eyes.

"What if he doesn't show, or what if he changes his mind mid vows!" she said. "Look at all those empty seats. I won't know half of them!"

"Elaine, what's your nervous eye color?" asked Victoire suddenly.

"Err… well it used to be green when I was younger, but now it's sort of a puke yellow. I think puke yellow is more fitting don't you, like I'm going to puke."

Victoire panicked too, "Well, these dresses look like puke! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"Ahhh!" exclaimed Elaine looking at the monstrous dresses.

"You are marrying my brother, he loves you to death, and there is nothing to worry about, except the fact that I invited my boyfriend to the wedding and erm… well, James and Albus don't know…." Said Lily. Suddenly all of Elaine's problems seemed to vanish. Lily was just that kind of person. The dresses turned a contented blue and the bridesmaids got in them, praying that they wouldn't turn yellow again.

In no time at all, the bridesmaids were all wearing purple dresses while Elaine was wearing a beautiful white dress with her beautiful lace veil covering her big beautiful curls and her anxious yet ecstatic smile. Charlie's twins were holding their sister's hands and bouncing up and down at the front of the line while the rest of the bridesmaids gave Elaine last minute reassurance.

Toire watched as the doors opened and she smiled, watching her cousins travel down the aisle. She let Elaine take a little peek and was instantly pulled away from their small vantage point behind the door.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" scream whispered Elaine. "THE DECORATIONS ARE NOT THE TEAL I CHOSE TO GO WITH THE PURPLE DRESSES! THEY ARE BLUE! BLOODY BLUE!" exclaimed Elaine angrily. "DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS! WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?"

"Well, remember the bet about how the dresses would be green, not purple. Well, if I win, green and teal don't do well together. They look like non matching shades of green, so I changed the decorations to blue and and gold instead of teal and gold because that way it matches either way! Besides, right now, you're angry and the dresses are green, so I'm winning!"

"Oh," said Elaine calming down from bridezilla mode. "Well, look, now they are blue, and yeah! Purple! And yeah! I get to walk down the aisle! Uncle Aberforth! You made it!" she looked with happy eyes to her uncle who would be walking her down the aisle. Victoire looked down at the purple dress, just wait and see.

First Lily went down, followed by Sarah, and ShiShi. Finally it was Victoire's turn, giving a wink first to her friend before heading down the aisle. It felt oddly like a childhood game where she had been either Aunt Ginny or her mum, or Aunt Hermione and was getting married to Teddy by James. James always stood toward the middle as minister and then Teddy on the side. This time however, she was going to be maid of honor, and James was groom, and there was a real minister, leaving Teddy as the best man.

As she reached her place across from Teddy, everyone stood and turned as the music changed so that they could watch Elaine enter the room. She looked absolutely beautiful in the off the shoulder long sleeved white gown that clung to her torso before flaring out into a huge train. The lace veil over her dark curls looked almost like snowflakes on her hair, and the green stems of the gold roses she carried, now matched every single bridesmaid dress which had changed the instant that Elaine saw James. Victoire almost wanted to catch her friend's eye and give her an "I told you so" look but Elaine only had eyes for James who Victoire couldn't help but notice was looking at Elaine as if she was the most important thing in the world to him. He had a huge grin plastered on his face, and his eyes were fixed on her. He looked so relieved that she was there, but it looked like he was holding his breath. Victoire watched Teddy nudge his friend and mutter, "Breathe," before James' chest took a huge rise.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" asked the priest.

"Her mother and I do," answered Aberforth as he handed Elaine off to James who took her hands as Victoire took her bouquet. Turning to face each other, the couple was absolutely glowing, and Victoire had to shove aside a pang of jealousy that they had found a lifelong partner that was their true love while she was still alone. However, once she set that emotion aside, she was able to enjoy the ceremony much more. As they vowed to love, honor, cherish, and obey, Victoire felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"I, Elaine, take you, James, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life," said Elaine in a strong yet quiet voice. The first tears slipped down Victoire's cheeks and she couldn't pay much attention as James declared his vows and they exchanged rings. Even as James was lifting away Elaine's veil, Victoire could still barely see through her bleary eyes, and missed the kiss.

When the music began, and the wedding party marched out of the church, if it had not been for Teddy holding her arm, and guiding her down between the pews, she wouldn't have made it out of the church. When they finally got outside, she was able to wipe the tears from her eyes, and smiled up at Teddy in thanks, only to see that he too had eyes that were a bit too shiny.

"I can't believe my best friend is finally married to the girl of his dreams," said Teddy with a smile.

"Neither can he," came James' dreamy voice from the behind them. They both laughed at the lovesick tone, and went to take pictures. Victoire had never noticed how many extra pictures the Maid of Honor had to be in, but she was glad she had only been granted the title once. She wasn't sure how much longer she could look happy.

After pictures, they all apparated to James and Elaine's new house for the reception which was being held in the giant ballroom at the Potter mansion. The ballroom had been decorated in blue, green, and purple that complimented the cream and gold that the room was normally. There were dozens of tables where all of the guests were sitting at, many of which would be put up to enlarge the dance floor when dinner was over.

Victoire took her place at the high table where the wedding party, Elaine, and James were seated. Sitting next to Elaine, she tried not to notice how many people had shown up for the wedding. What had she expected, Harry Potter's son was getting married, he was possibly the most famous person alive in the wizarding world. Even more famous than the minister of magic himself, who was indeed there. She could see him over at a table with her Uncle Percy. Victor Krum, the famous Quidditch Coach, former player. There were of course all the famous and wealthy people in her family, like Uncle George, founder of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, but she was used to them. What she wasn't used to was Oliver Wood, Puddlemere United Coach, Ministers of Magic from twelve countries, including Egypt and Australia and the United States, famous singers like the Weird Sisters, who would be singing at the reception, along with a few others including Three Cauldrons Down, Dungeons and Dragons, and the Pixie Chicks.

And to top it all off, she Victoire Weasley, some nobody Healer trainee who might not have passed her HAREs had to make a speech. And dinner was nearly over.

She had barely tasted the gourmet meal that had been prepared by top chefs for the wedding when she realized how soon the speech was going to be. Most people were finishing their meals, and the noise level had risen, a sure sign that she and Teddy needed to begin soon. He began giving her pointed looks across James and Elaine, and she knew it was almost time. Grabbing a glass of champagne from the passing waiter although she had a full glass in front of her, she gave the bubbling liquid a questioning glance before downing the entire thing in one tip. She barely tasted it, but figured it would be liquid courage for the public speaking she would now be doing. Giving a nod to Teddy, she watched as he stood up. Grudgingly, she followed suit. She was so wrapped up in her own fear of the speech, she didn't even notice that Teddy had and quick glass of strong liquor before he stood up to get himself going.

"So as many of you know, I'm Teddy, a.k.a. best man. And as many of you also know, James here is practically my family. With his father being my godfather, that makes him like my godbrother, or something like that. And I've known him pretty much as long as a person can. In fact, apparently I was there the day he was born, although I don't quite remember it. Being the friend who has known James the longest, I feel the most qualified to make this speech, along with the lovely Victoire Weasley, a.k.a. maid of honor, I guess."

"Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Teddy. And let me remind you, that while you have known James a full one month and 6 days longer than I have, which you have never let me forget, I have known Elaine longer than you. I met her briefly before boarding the train as a first year, a full fifteen minutes before she met you," quipped Victoire earning a laugh from the crowd. Merlin she was nervous! "And honestly, knowing the both of them so very well, I can honestly say that to this day, I cannot believe they are together."

"And that, I can agree on," said Teddy, earning a few more laughs. "I, rather than Vic here, was present when the world of James Potter and that of Elaine Dridel first collided. And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. To help Vic and I demonstrate how Ellie and James' relationship has progressed through the years, we have enlisted the help of our dear friends, Orion Black and Murphy Finnigan who will be playing the parts of Elaine and James respectively." The attention of the guests was momentarily displaced to the stage where the bands would later be performing.

"I thought I got to be James!" came Orion's indignant voice from behind the curtain.

"I'm taller, so I get to be the guy!" came Murphy's deeper voice. "Now keep the bloody wig on or I'll charm it on for the rest of the night." The crowd laughed, thinking those lines were also rehearsed and Teddy shrugged his shoulders at Vic before continuing.

"It all started on the train on the way to our first year at Hogwarts," said Teddy gesturing to the magical scene that appeared on the stage behind him.

Suddenly not two, but three people emerged from behind the curtain, Elaine laughed out loud along with most of the guests, causing Orion to look down and curse.

"I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WOULD BE WARDROBE!" he exclaimed gesturing to the Hogwarts girls uniform he was wearing.

"Continue with the story," demanded Victoire.

"My name's Elaine," said Orion in a falsetto voice, sitting down with a giant book in hand and a pout on his face as Farley Greengrass sat next to him, and Murphy with a black mop of hair sat across from him.

"I'm James, who's your friend?" said Murphy in a weak boyish voice to which James protested, "I don't sound like that!"

"Farley Greengrass," replied Farley.

"More like Farty Greengas!" laughed the Murphy-James.

"You're rude! Let's leave Farley!" said Orion not sounding like he meant it and more like he still thought the insult was funny.

"Once we got to school, things didn't really get better between Elaine and James, what with him being such a bragging prankster, and well, Ellie being Ellie," said Victoire continuing the narration as Murphy charmed Orion's wig about four different colors and Orion pretended to get mad at him. Then Murphy levitated Orion around the room before dropping him in a fountain across the room.

"The subsequent years at Hogwarts passed in a similar manner, James harassing Elaine, and then often wondering why she hated him so much and why her eyes were always angry green when he was around. Anyone who knows Elaine knows that livid green eyes on her are to be feared. In fact, it can safely be said that Elaine hated James at this point." Currently, Orion who had used a drying charm, was now trying to write at the desk in the magical scene while Murphy charmed the quill to fly away from him. Orion eventually got so frustrated, he began chasing Murphy through the maze of tables with his wand, causing the wedding guests to laugh uproariously.

"I didn't hate James!" exclaimed Elaine as she held her new husband's hand, lifting it to give it a kiss.

"HE FED YOUR BOOKBAG TO THE GIANT SQUID!" exclaimed Victoire causing the crowd to laugh yet again.

"Okay, maybe I did…"

"On with our story," said Teddy as things settled down. "I don't think that James noticed Elaine was even a girl until the summer before our fourth year. We ran into her in Diagon Alley when we were school shopping."

"Hey Elaine, how's your day going?" asked Murphy.

"A lot better before I saw you!" cried Orion in a falsetto voice before stomping off, his wig a bit askew.

"Fourth year also happened to be the first year we could go to the Yule Ball, and James was dead set on asking Elaine who he had just realized was quite beautiful," said Victoire.

"Where are you headed Lainey?" Murphy asked Orion as they walked across the front of the stage.

"Away from you."

"Want some company?"

"Not if it's you. Why are you following me?"

"Well, IwaswonderingifyouwouldgototheChristmasdancewithme?" he stated in a rush.

"What?"

"Will you go to the Christmas Dance with me?"

"If you think I would go with you after everything you've done to me over the years? Sorry James but I think you know the answer is no."

"And that was about the nicest she ever said it," stated Teddy with a laugh. "Because she said no to James quite a bit, and he just couldn't take a hint."

"James never could give up on Ellie, no matter how many times she rejected him, or how harshly," narrated Victoire as Murphy followed a haughty Orion around the room.

"How about you and me go out to Hogsmeade together next week? It will be really fun."

"Really fun would be being attacked by a hippogriff. I'll pass on the fun."

Pause with laughter.

"I just got the results. You were just voted the most beautiful girl at the match today and the prize is a date in Hogsmeade with me this weekend!"

"I'll take the cash instead."

Pause with laughter.

"NO!" exclaimed Orion.

"I didn't even ask you yet!"

"Well then ask me so I can answer you again."

"Fine, will you go to Hogsmead with me?"

"No."

Pause with more laughter.

"Wana go out with me Ellie?"

"Your voice makes me want to go insane, and I would actually prefer going insane to going on a date with you."

"We wouldn't have to talk, we could just snog!" said Murphy and Orion slapped him with an undisguised laugh. By this point, everyone in the room was laughing at the scene as the two marauders acted it out with exaggerated voices and faces. They were both quite drunk which made the whole thing even more hilarious.

"At some point, Elaine began hexing James, not even merely rejecting him, a personal favorite was when his mouth was sewn shut for five days. I remember incidents when she claimed she wouldn't date him if it was a choice between him and the giant squid. And the giant squid eats backpacks… that's not date material!" laughed Victoire feeling more relaxed because the crowd obviously liked their speech. "James was just such a stubborn Gryffindor and Ellie was too!"

"When they got paired together for the sixth year project, we thought that Elaine would kill him," laughed Teddy.

"But I convinced her not to. After all, I couldn't have my best friend in Azkaban!"

"AND I'M GLAD YOU DIDN'T LET ME!" called Elaine from the table looking fondly at James.

"We counted over the years, being the loyal friends we were… and James asked Elaine out a grand total of 246 times, either by letters, telephone calls, notes in class, or chance verbal encounters among other methods. Each time he received a reply of no, sometimes with a bloody hell in front of it."

"Yes, there was that time with the sign language," added Victoire.

"But, believe it or not, she finally said yes," said Teddy. "Lucky number 247. A number that will go down in infamy along with the day of their first date, a year ago tomorrow. December 23rd."

"I remember getting the letter when I was in France. Believe it or not, I somewhat saw it coming as I believe that Elaine had been fighting her feelings for James for a while at that point," said Victoire.

"What can we say? He didn't like to pour ink on her anymore!"

"THAT WAS ONCE IN FIRST YEAR!" cried James indignantly.

"And, so, they had their first date, and from there it was history. I still remember the first time most people saw them holding hands. Professor Binns about died of shock… except he was already dead."

"I formally thanked Elaine once they started dating, because he was much more livable to be around, not constantly whining about how the girl he loved didn't love him back… Then I revoked my apology, because all he ever did was obsess over his new girlfriend!" joked Teddy.

"And Elaine was obsessed with him too. She used to complain about how he was always stalking her, and now all she did was exclaim over what a great kisser he was!" Everyone laughed as Elaine blushed furiously. Orion and Murphy who had sat down and were now normally dressed began clinking their forks against their wine glasses. James grinned and leaned in to kiss the blushing bride.

"So then, after graduation, most of you know the story of how James proposed, and she said yes for the second time, finally agreeing to be his wife."

"I never really would have thought I would be here standing in front of all of you, proclaiming the marriage of my immature cousin and best friend, but, well, here we are against all odds."

"If Elaine could have said no to James that many times, she must have really meant it when she finally said yes. That's why I know they're going to last. James knew it all along, and it may have taken Elaine and the rest of us a while longer to realize, but they are perfect for each other."

"James makes Elaine laugh and relax, not being so serious, while she brings out the serious side in him, and I'm not talking about his middle name!" said Victoire, causing anyone who knew James' full name to chuckle louder than the rest.

"They are both incredibly intelligent, made obvious by the fact that they graduated at the top of our class. They push each other to try harder and be better both academically and as people. In fact, James probably never would have grown out of the mindset of a three year old if wasn't for Elaine."

"And finally, I have never met another couple with such passion for each other. They may fight like my Uncle Harry and Voldemort, but they love each other so much. It's almost sickening sometimes. But they are a couple that is going to last forever. To Elaine and James," began Victoire.

"… to a blessed marriage full of happiness, health, wealth, and love," finished Teddy.

"To my best friend Elaine, and her new husband who also happens to be my beloved cousin," said Victoire with a giant smile.

"And to my best friend James, and to his beautiful wife Elaine," continued Teddy raising his glass as Victoire did the same.

"To Elaine and James Potter!" they said together as everyone lifted their glasses. Victoire took a long dreg of champagne. She needed it after that speech. Sitting back down, she was happy when everyone else took their eyes off her. Before she knew it, it was dancing time, and Elaine and James were opening up the floor with their first dance as a married couple.

The wedding party followed suit, and she was paired with Teddy. Something she was more than a little excited about. He was a good dancer, a great dancer even. She was happy when he asked if she wanted to stay on the floor a while and dance. It gave her an excuse to hang all over him, and he was secretly happy to be that close to her.

After the Weird Sisters opened, the other bands followed suit, with small breaks in between rotations, during which the overly warm couple would migrate to the bar and drink a quick glass of whatever they could before the next number began. Teddy couldn't help but notice that Victoire wasn't deserting him for another partner, staying by his side, talking, laughing, and dancing away. Personally he saw it as a gift from the heavens that she had even danced this long with him. And she was such a great dancer, with that Veela fire, that he couldn't help but dance just as enthusiastically. When Dungeons and Dragons started playing, the sound of their drums nearly drowned everything in the room out, and everyone in the room was clapping along as they danced and sang.

Across the room, two elderly ladies were not dancing, Augusta Longbottom's dancing days were pretty much over, and she sat with her younger friend Dromeda. "Oh goodness, I think I just figured everything out!" exclaimed Augusta. "It's like a puzzle piece that I couldn't find, that just fell into place, and now everything fits together perfectly!"

"What?" asked Andromeda who had been observing her grandson and Victoire with a happy little smile as she watched them dancing, spinning in circles with happiness reflected in their eyes.

"Look at those two, you can tell exactly how they feel about each other just from the looks on their faces!" Augusta said to her friend who smiled sadly.

"Yes, sometimes it seems obvious to everyone but themselves how they feel about each other. I just can't picture them not getting together eventually!" laughed the tipsy grandmother. "I wish they would just hurry it all up. I'm one of the few that anticipates it, but it will happen, I'm almost sure!"

"Well, considering how close they are dancing, there's no room left to move between the two of them!" declared Augusta somewhat indignantly as she adjusted her vulture hat atop her head.

Meanwhile, Teddy and Victoire had lost track of time, and the number of alcoholic drinks they had consumed, and were dancing the night away. Unfortunately, Elaine flagged them down, and forced them to come for the cutting of the cake, after which, they decided they were too tired from all the dancing. They had danced for about four hours straight almost.

Taking their cake, they grabbed a bottle of vodka from a passing waiter who looked offended they had taken the entire bottle and dashed off to a secluded back table, laughing like little children.

Deciding it would be more fun to eat their cake under the table, they both sat on the floor, watching the dance floor from underneath the tablecloth. Before they knew it, it was almost one, and they had already finished the bottle of vodka, and polished off another of wine.

"How about I walk you home?" asked Teddy, seeing Victoire looked tired of the party, no long inclined to dance or socialize with anyone but him. In fact, he was about ready to leave himself. Most of the other guests were still getting warmed up though.

"Sure, let's go. Apparation and Alcohol don't mix. And I think I've had a little bit too much," laughed Victoire crawling out from under the table, giving him an excellent view of her arse. Poking her blond head under the table she laughed. "Come on out Tedders," and grabbed his hand, pulling him.

They went and grabbed her purse and their cloaks from the coat room before going outside to catch the Knight Bus. When the giant double decker purple bus landed on the quiet Godric's Hallow street, they paid their fees and asked to be dropped off in London at the stop nearest Victoire's apartment.

Since nearly all of the wizarding world was at the Potter Wedding still, which was in full swing, the trip was quick, and they were giggling over how unsteady they were on their feet as they stepped out into the cold London street. It was nearly Christmas, but there wasn't snow on the ground yet as they made the short walk from the bus stop to Victoire's building.

After making it up the stairs, they arrived at Vic's door. "Vant to come in for zomething to drink, varm you up before you go 'ome?" asked Victoire with a smile that Teddy couldn't resist. Going inside, the two threw their coats on the couch, kicking off their shoes, and headed into the kitchen. Victoire poured both of them generous portions of hard liquor into large cups when she couldn't find the shot glasses, giggling about the wedding and how beautiful it had been the entire time.

"Much better zan Tanya's don' you zink?" she said, slightly slurring her words, throwing her wand in the sink along with the empty bottle. The two took their drinks, and a bottle of Vodka that Teddy had found into the sitting room, sitting on the couches, propping their tired feet up.

It wasn't long before the pair had finished up the last of that, and Teddy decided it was best he went home. In fact, he wasn't sure if coming here had been a great idea anymore, but he wasn't exactly sure. Vic was just so irresistible.

"I had better go," he said taking his coat and heading out the door. Victoire seemed to pout, but stumbled over and gave him a hug as he went out the door.

"Get 'ome zafe," she giggled. "Tanks for walking me 'ome." Teddy had slightly registered that her voice took on a slight French Accent like her mother's when she was trashed, which she surely was. With a silly grin on his face, he made his way downstairs.

Meanwhile, Victoire had made it to the fridge and had downed an entire bottle of firewhiskey as she stumble danced around the apartment, picking up the bottles and glasses. She was stumbling, and still laughing to herself when Teddy came back, only five minutes after he had left.

"I forgot my shoes," he said sheepishly as she stared at him as he barged in. Feeling unsecure under her gaze, he made his way to his shoes. Suddenly, she was standing in front of him, her long blond curls hanging messily around her face as her elaborate hairdo had come down ages ago, her bridesmaid dress emerald green, and her blue eyes very shiny.

"I just remembered zometing too," she said. "I owe you a raincheck." Teddy's drunken mind didn't even register what she was talking about as her lips met his. All he knew was that Victoire Georgette Weasley was kissing him, and he wasn't dreaming. Or, at least he hoped he not.

**_Ahhh, cliffie... review please!!! Hope you loved it! IT's sorta long, and I'm hoping that all the length and action made it a great chapter. REVIEW PLEASE!! it really helps me update!!_**


	12. The Morning After & What Came Next

**Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! Please review this chapter too!! Anyways, enjoy!**

Teddy Lupin awoke with a pounding headache, yet he somehow felt more comfortable than he ever remembered. The first thing he registered was that he was hungover, very, very hungover, which most likely had to do with the fact that if he remembered correctly, James' wedding was last night. He remembered Friday night, when James had come to him, worried that Elaine would abandon him at the altar, have her final laugh when she rejected him one last time, or that they would get married but he would have failed his CATs, Cumulative Auror Tests, that he took last week, and then she would leave him for another man, most likely someone with blue eyes, neat blond hair, and a sexy accent, and how could he compete with that. Teddy remembered reassuring his friend that, no, that was not going to happen, and telling James that he needed to lay off the caffeine and chocolate before bedtime.

The next morning had been the wedding, where James had enjoyed another freak out, this time provoked by Orion, who Teddy had slipped a calming drought to prevent any more anti-marriage outbursts. Then was the wedding, his best friend finally fulfilling his dreams. Meanwhile, Teddy standing across from the girl he loved, but unable to look her in the eyes and tell her. Speaking of Vic, it smelled like her… she always smelled great. Then was their speech, it went great, she was great, of course she was. Then dancing and drinking, and it got a bit blurry after that, but that was to be expected with all of the alcohol he had consumed. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but he was pretty sure that he had blacked out sometime shortly after they downed that bottle of vodka they drank under the table. They stole it from someone, someone with a mustache…

Teddy silently thanked whatever higher power there was that he didn't have to work today, and decided to check up on the time, cautiously opening his eyes. Clock, clock, where's the bloody clock? This was not his bedroom. In fact, the last time he checked, the walls of his bedroom were not bright blue and yellow. And his sheets were not this soft. And he was royally screwed!

Sitting up, he didn't have to check for clothes, looking frantically around the room for his wand, he noticed it sitting on the vanity table bench with his tie from the night before slung over it. His black dress robes were discarded in a pile on the floor, and he noticed his underclothes were right next to the bed. Sitting up, and easing himself over the edge of the bed, he reached down and pulled them on, doing his best not to disturb the sleeping figure that was curled beneath the white comforter. Looking at the lump, he felt curiosity getting the better of him. His pounding headache was proof that he was horribly hungover, and perhaps he was still a bit drunk. His judgment seemed a bit impaired, but he felt himself reaching over and gently pulling the blankets down a bit anyways.

Teddy stared. The messy blond hair covering the pillow was unmistakable. No one had that hair, no one. Shooting his eyes around the room, he saw several tell tale signs, the bright purple gown, the familiar healer robes, a blond haired doll on a shelf, a bloody photo! As if the smell that permeated the entire room shouldn't have given it away!

He had slept with Victoire Weasley, and he didn't even remember it! Wait, he had slept with Victoire?! James was going to kill him, no… BILL was going to kill him, followed in short succession by Fluer, the Weasley Uncles, Harry, the Weasley Aunts, and then, dear Merlin help him, Molly Weasley! Grandpa Arthur was actually too nice to kill him. But no! Anything was better than being rejected by Vic, anything.

She was drunk, he was drunk, he was an IDIOT! And he was just sitting here like a bloody idiot! He needed to get out of here before Victoire woke up and realized that he was an asshole who took advantage of her, and then didn't even wake up to remember the tale. Of all the things that could have happened, this topped the worst case scenario list. Tip toeing out of bed, he went to his wand and tie, dressing himself quietly, stowing the wand and the tie in his pocket before he began pacing the room, running his fingers through his messy long hair. What to do? Rejection? Death? Run away? Gryffindor! Rejection by Vic?

Suddenly there was a low moan from the bed and he panicked. The lump that was Victoire was moving, and there was nowhere to hide now.

"AHHH!!!!!!" came the inevitable scream. Teddy held his pounding head as the shriek died down quickly with Victoire clutching her head with one hand and the blue sheet to her chest with the other. He stared at her, ashamed but unwilling to let a blush seep into his cheeks.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked with a slightly fearful tone in her voice.

At loss for words, Teddy did the stupidest thing imaginable, "Edward, Edward Knots, and errr.. great party last night, too bad I don't remember much of it. I'll just get out of your hair then," he said awkwardly. "I have to be going."

Victoire stared. Edward Bloody Knots! Who the Bloody HELL!! There was this dark haired stranger in her bedroom, and she was so hungover that the last thing she remembered was something vague involving cake! When the heck had she met this guy? With his long dark hair, his crooked nose, tanned complexion, slanting brows and piercing eyes, he could only be described as tall, dark, handsome, and dangerous looking, emphasis on the dangerous. Why did she decide to take that first swig of champagne? That much she remembered. She gave her virginity to _this _guy? REALLY? She was saving herself for TEDDY! She hadn't dated since maybe fifth year! She was just waiting for Teddy to realize that they were meant for each other, and now… she felt the tears coming the same time she felt the bile rising in her throat. Only her, stupid idiot, Vicky would do something like this, getting drunk at her best friend's wedding and sleeping with a complete stranger.

Miraculously able to pull the sheet off the bed with her, she raced out of the room and down to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before she vomited out a good portion of the alcohol she had consumed the night before, or at least she hoped it was a good portion or it would be a long morning. By the time she was done, she was lying on the cold bathroom tile, tears running silently across the bridge of her nose to splash quietly on the white floor. She heard the front door of her apartment open and close quietly, and she was glad _he_ was gone.

Twenty minutes later, she had washed her face, brushed her teeth, and walked into the kitchen, the blue sheet still wrapped around her. The entire apartment was spotless, and the wooden kitchen table cleared the day before now had a glaring white card that was sitting innocuously atop its polished surface.

**Edward R. Knots  
Curse Breaker and Banker  
Department of Gringots and Relations  
British Ministry of Magic Floor Nine Office 22  
Owl and Airplane Code 0922**

As if she would consider dating him a second time! Probably thought she was easy! Well, she sure came off that way after last night. Angrily she contemplated tearing the small white card into bits but then reconsidered, deciding that for whatever reason, she needed to keep this card, to remind her that she should NEVER drink again. It wouldn't help her forget, but it would remind her what she had become. Picking up the hateful card and getting herself a cup of water, she walked slowly back to her bedroom where she threw the card into a drawer of her vanity table, wishing she could wake up and it would yesterday. Or better yet, a dream.

Teddy meanwhile, didn't know what had possessed him to leave his "card" on the table, perhaps it was to prove he was a real person, to leave a bit of proof that he had been there to keep Vic sane, to keep her from believing she had imagined the episode after he skedaddled out of there. To solidify his lie. She probably saw him as another conquest, some stupid guy she met at a wedding and didn't remember the next morning. She certainly had no recollection of the night before or she would have called him out, he was sure of it. But what had provoked him to give her his actual identity, his secret one, to show her Edward's face? It had been pure instinct to morph, and he was so used to Edward's face. He was so not a Gryffindor, he should have let the sorting hat put him somewhere else, anywhere else, SLYTHERIN even!!! He felt like a bloody slytherin, but it was better this way, it really was. Now Vic didn't have to hate him, but he couldn't face her. Apparating himself to his grandmother's, he felt his head spinning. Don't apparate hungover, that was something to keep in mind. Except he was never drinking again. And this time he meant it.

"Teddy? What are you doing here?" came his grandmother's concerned voice.

"Emergency in Egypt, I need to get back and I won't be home for the holidays. Give my love to all the family, and tell them I'm sorry I won't be here, especially… especially Vic. Love you gran, and I'll owl you your present. I'm sorry," he said hugging his confused grandmother tightly before stepping back and apparating before she could reply.

The two spent their Sundays in very similar manners, yet very differently. Victoire decided to clean the entire apartment. It was an attempt to rid the place of his presence entirely. Teddy also decided to clean his apartment, because he was tired of living like a pig, and perhaps if his environment was more clean, he would become a better person. A better person that didn't run out on their best friend after drunkenly sleeping with them.

By the next morning, Victoire had made several resolutions. She wasn't going to wait around for Teddy anymore. By now, he should have noticed her. In any case, she would now go to plan B. Plan Obtain Boyfriend Get You-know-who to Notice, or plan O.B.G.Y.N for short.

Working Christmas Eve was not exactly fun, but it provided Victoire with a chance to go into work looking like a model. Putting more effort into her appearance than she had the entire time she had worked there, she did her hair to Veela perfection, glossed her rosy lips, curled and darkened her eyelashes, rouged her cheeks, and even wore some dangly earrings and high heels. She was done up to go out, but was wearing her bloody blue scrubs. Well… she had to look approachable.

By three o clock, she had been asked on no less than four dates for the next week, but none of the guys were the right ones to bring to Christmas dinner and use for plan O.B.G.Y.N. stage one where she brought a total hottie yet schmuck to dinner at Grandma Molly's.

It wasn't until she was sent up to the break room for a quick break that she ran into him and realized how perfect it was. "Healer Roan!" she said with a flirtatious smile.

"Why Miss Weasley, you are looking more delectable than a Christmas Pudding this Eve," he said. Victoire restrained herself from rolling her eyes.

"How are you, handsome?" she asked while batting her long eyelashes. Healer Roan grinned.

"I'm excellent now that you're here doll," he replied. "Now, it isn't every day that the most beautiful girl in the hospital comes up to you and starts a conversation. What do you say to a date? Perhaps dinner?"

"Oh, well, with the holidays, it's if you don't have a family," said Victoire. She emphasized the if part.

"I love families, big ones, small ones, old ones, young ones, family ones," droned on Healer Roan stupidly. "Don't have much of one myself, only child and all. My parents are out of town for the holidays but I don't let that dampen my Christmas spirit, plenty of lovely ladies like yourself to spend it with. What do you say?"

"PERFECT!" exclaimed Victoire, letting a giant smile brighten her face. "Come to Christmas dinner with me tomorrow then! My family will LOVE you! And I'm sure you'll love them, and it will be wonderful! My grandma makes the best food in all of Britian, and it will be a great time. My uncles, and some of my aunts will have a quidditch tournament, and there will be lots of little ones running around to make us laugh. And yes, I'll meet you in the Leaky Cauldron at ten so that we can floo then?" A stunned Healer Roan couldn't do anything in the brilliance of her veelaness, and he nodded with a silly smile on his face. Later, he would wonder why he would ever agree to meeting her family, but in the moment, he was too happy not to say yes.

**Dear Gran,**

**Sorry again that I won't make it to the Weasley Christmas. Give my love to everyone, write me how it goes! I hate missing it, and eat an extra piece of pie for me!**

**Love Teddy**

The next morning, Victoire looked at her date skeptically. He was dressed just a bit too nice, and looked a bit too handsome, rich, and old for her. Perfect. The exact kind of man her family wouldn't want her dating. Some rich old player. Taking his hand, she led him to the fireplace to floo to the Burrow.

"Victoire!" exclaimed Aunt Ginny. "You look beautiful darling, and who is this?"

"This is my boyfriend, Mark Roan, he's a healer at St. Mungos," said Victoire with a smile at Mark. She had looked up his first name the night before. Ewww. He looked startled when she called him her boyfriend, but she squeezed his hand, and he seemed to forget.

"Mark, why don't you go get me something to drink and get to know the place, the kitchen is right in there, and I would love a pumpkin juice," said Victoire as all of her Aunts gathered around, most likely to ask all about this boyfriend. He nodded, still in a veela charm induced stupor, and headed into the other room.

"How long have you been seeing him?" asked Aunt Penelope.

"Oh, a few weeks, you know, just starting out, but he doesn't have family, so I thought he could spend Christmas with us."

"Ohh," said Aunt Angelina wiggling her eyebrows. "What do your mum and dad think of him?"

"Errr… well," said Victoire realizing the flaw in her plan. "They haven't met him yet."

"Who 'asn't met who?" asked a new voice. Fleur and Bill, along with Nikki and Louis had arrived.

"My boyfriend Mark hasn't met you guys yet. I decided to bring him last minute, and here he is, Mark, meet my mum and dad, Bill and Fleur Weasley."

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," said Mark in his debonair voice. Fluer sent her daughter a questioning look but gave a tight smile and let him kiss her hand. Bill also sent his daughter a look but shook the man's hand, and Victoire smiled, seeing Andromeda.

"Granny Tonks! Meet my new boyfriend Mark!" she said, introducing him.

"Oh, nice to meet you Mark. Vicky, why didn't you tell me you were seeing anyone?"

"It's a recent development and we weren't very serious. But, I thought since he doesn't have much family that he might like to meet mine over holidays. We work together, he's a very successful healer."

"Oh, I'm sure he is."

"Is Ted here?"

"Oh, no, he's not coming, he had urgent business in Egypt," replied Andromeda sadly as she studied Mark and the lovesick way he was observing Victoire.

"Really?" interjected her father as Victoire felt the sting of disappointment. He was supposed to see her with Mark and get all jealous. She turned away from the conversation that her father and Granny Tonks were having.

Deciding it would be best to keep the act up so that Teddy would at least hear about it, Victoire kept up the pretense that she and Mark were dating the rest of the day. The night before, after work, she had run to the store to get him a Christmas present, a pair of cuff links.

"Oh Toire, you didn't have to get me anything," he said as she handed him the present.

"Of course I did, and after these beautiful earrings you gave me this morning, you are hardly one to talk," she gestured to the pretty blue earrings she was wearing as the females of the family looked at the expensive gift that she had actually gotten for herself as a Christmas present.

"Ohh…" he said looking confused as she rubbed his knee to distract him. Being a veela was coming in handy quite a bit. She had managed to lie her way through dinner, saying they had been on three dates, nothing too fancy, and that they often ate lunch together in the break room. She giggled and whispered with her aunts and cousins, how she thought he was special, and that maybe it might work out. Everyone bought it, except perhaps Rose and Andromeda, but Andromeda would have heard about him, Victoire reasoned. She would have to go have a cry at her house over tea when they "broke up".

Late that night, after all of the holiday fun, opening presents, which she had gotten a lot of, eating two dinners, the family quidditch match, some dancing to the wireless, and some joking by the uncles, Victoire finally dropped Mark off at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Today was great," he said in a dazed voice. In all honesty, she had used so much Veela charm on him over the course of the day, he wouldn't remember much.

"I'm glad you thought so, see you at work, Roan," she said kissing him to daze him more as she escaped. Next time she was choosing a stranger. He was going to be hopelessly in love with her after this.

Christmas was on Tuesday, so on Thursday, Victoire thought enough time had passed for her to be able to fake a break up, saying that she caught him cheating on her. Andromeda sympathized and wrote another letter to Teddy that night, discussing how Victoire's whirlwind romance had blown over in a disastrous fashion.

Victoire figured that Teddy might come home for Sunday dinner to see everyone who was home from Hogwarts for the holidays, so she brought another date to Sunday dinner, letting everyone think it was a rebound after the messy break up with Mark. This time, she chose a nice, good looking man who she met in a bookstore and had asked her out. She had decided it would be fine to go out on Friday night, pretend to have a wonderful time, and then ask him to Sunday brunch.

It had worked perfectly. They had gone dancing in Diagon Alley after dinner in Muggle London on Friday night, and when he walked her home, she had laughed over what a wonderful time she had had, which really hadn't been a lie, and then asked him to come on Sunday. Teddy hadn't come on Sunday, but the family had been astonished by the quick boyfriend swap, and had liked Ned quite a bit. Surprisingly, he worked with Uncle Percy, and Uncle Percy and him got along great.

When Victoire's mum invited her for a small family dinner with Louis and Dom home, she had needed a new date. Ned was alright, but if he worked with Uncle Percy, she couldn't pretend to like him much longer. Besides, he was a bit young, more she needed them middle aged like Mark was. She met Owen on Monday afternoon, right after she owled Ned that it wasn't working out. He was walking into the post office right as she was coming out. They had literally run into each other, causing them both to drop their things, and in the pick up that followed, he had asked her out to dinner for the next evening.

"Well, my mum really wants me to come home for dinner, but maybe you could come?" she had suggested. "We could go out, just the two of us, for ice cream after."

"That sounds great!" said Owen, obviously surprised she had said yes.

The next day, they had gone to dinner, and her family had liked him. Mostly… because Fleur didn't really appreciate that he broke one of her favorite tea cups. He was clumsy, and Victoire knew she should have realized it from how they met. After dinner, they went to ice cream, and he had tripped, launching his ice cream in her face. After, he had apologized profusely, and she had assured him it was fine, but that she really had to go. "I'll owl you," she had said, with clearly no intention of doing so. He probably got the hint too, but after a disastrous incident like that, who wanted a repeat date?

The following Sunday, she had brought Quinn Philips, a famous quidditch player who she had treated for a concussion at work the week prior. He had asked her out, and she had suggested she come to family dinner. She explained how many of her family might want to meet him, and that he might want to meet some of her family, such as her Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Uncle George, Uncle Charlie, and pretty much everyone was famous. He had happily agreed. And they had actually had a great time, and everyone liked him. However, she decided to tell it to him straight, she really just wasn't looking for a boyfriend right now, and he had agreed that his career was too important to worry too much about girls.

The Potter New Year's ball had been postponed to coincide with James' return home from his Honeymoon with Ellie, so it was the Friday before all of the youngsters went back to Hogwarts. Victoire was excited to see her best friend again, and already had a date lined up. She had met him at a quidditch match ages ago, and he was actually one of her friend's uncle's, but he wasn't that old. After meeting at the Puddlemere United Game, he had sent her owls, about once a month, asking for dates politely, and she wrote him off as a gross older man. Nevertheless, he was a good candidate for plan O.B.G.Y.N., especially because You-Know-Who would definitely be at his Godfather's party to see James come home from his honeymoon. Roger was so handsome, especially for an older man, with dark hair that had turned grey at the temples and gave him a distinguished look. He had obviously been exceedingly good looking in his younger years, and he had a wonderful voice. He was a wildly successful business man, owning his own quidditch team. He was the perfect type of man to make another jealous.

"You look beautiful Victoire," he said picking her up.

"And you too, now, we best get going."

"Have you ever been to one of the Potter parties?" he asked lightly. She was pretty sure she hadn't mentioned she was Harry Potter's niece, so maybe now wasn't the best time to bring up her last name.

"Errr.. I've been to a few, yourself?"

"They are classic, Harry's a real nice chap," replied Roger. Who used the word chap? Honestly.

"Mhm," she said as they got there, wondering how she would broach the topic.

"Let me go get you a drink," he said as she looked around distracted. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he went off in search of the beverages.

Suddenly, she was yanked from her lookout post into a dark alcove.

"WHAT THE BLOO…" she was cut off as a hand clapped over her mouth.

"It's me you twit!" came an aggravated voice. Looking at Elaine she grinned, hugging her captor happily.

"ELLIE!"

"Shhhh…" said Elaine. "We're hiding from all the important people I'm supposed to meet. I wanted to chit chat with you first. Who's the old bloke?" she asked. Victoire looked offended.

"He's my date, Roger, and be nice, he's very well established, and handsome, and well perfect, and he's not that old, just established. He owns his own quidditch team," she said.

"Established, old, same difference. Now what are you doing with him? I talked to Lily, and she seemed to think you were going through some odd phase. Does the 'Boyfriend of the Week Club' sound like something that Roger is a member of?" replied Elaine raising an eyebrow.

"Oh shut up! Honestly, I've seen a few people since you left, just dating a bit."

"She said one of them was Mark Roan, you brought him to Christmas and claimed you had been seeing each other for a few weeks, he gave you earrings that sounded quite a bit like the ones you bought yourself for Christmas."

"FINE! I was going to tell you anyways, just not here, muffilo," said Victoire casting a spell around them. "It's my master plan, to make Teddy jealous!"

"Ohhh, I like it!" exclaimed Elaine excitedly. "We just need to name it!"

"Already taken care of!" laughed Victoire, the two friends always named their plans. "Obtain Boyfriend to Get You-know-who to Notice! O.B.G.Y.N."

"Vic," said Elaine after a minute. "You REALLY should have taken muggle studies, and that name really needs to be changed."

"No, it's official, I wrote it in my diary!"

"Why couldn't you just name it, the Get Teddy Jealous Plan?"

"This sounds better, now shut up!" protested Vic. "Now, I've been dating a bunch of guys, Mark, Ned, Owen, Quinn Philips, and now Roger, and it's going great. Only, Teddy hasn't been around at any of the things I brought them to."

"Believe me, he's probably heard about them. The family was talking about it… they think you're a bit crazy. A boyfriend every week… If you really want to make Teddy jealous, he has to think you're serious about one guy. Then he'll come home from Egypt and sweep you off your feet."

"Come on Ellie, I'm not a princess, and this isn't a fairytale. He's not going to show up on this white horse and sweep me off my feet, carry me up the stairwell, and ravish me."

"You mean marry you."

"At this point, I'd settle. This is the real world."

". Anyways, you need to pick one guy to make him jealous with."

"Okay, Roger will do," said Victoire. She peeked out of the alcove to see him chatting with her Uncle Harry comfortably. Wow, that made him look so old. Not even Uncle Harry's hair was grey like his.

"Okay, then we will need to make sure you double with James and I, so that Teddy hears about it, talk him up to Teddy's gran, and bring him to lots of family things, and maybe you should let him buy you something expensive."

"Wow, you are so conniving," laughed Victoire as Elaine blushed.

"I had the same idea over honeymoon."

"To make Teddy jealous?"

"Yea, it came to me during the wedding. I think it will work. You two belong together!"

"Aww, Ellie, thanks. By the way, how was Bermuda, and the honeymoon?" Victoire waggled her eyebrows at her friend. Elaine blushed with a smile and then proceeded to tell her friend about the wonderful, amazing, romantic trip.

"We even got to swim with dolphins! It was amazing! The entire trip was amazing, I had a wonderful time! Especially the part with the horses, and James was too funny, and when he wouldn't wear sunscreen, and that night! AHAHAHA!" Said Elaine after a long description of the tropical paradise she and James had visited and the adventures they had shared on their trip.

"I never said I wanted to hear about the nights!" exclaimed Victoire covering her ears. Elaine blushed again, but stuck her tongue out.

"I was going to say that he couldn't sleep on his back, he was so burnt!"

Victoire laughed, knowing they were both joking, but also realizing she was hiding something very important from her friend. Pushing it aside in her mind, she decided Elaine never had to know. It was a one time drunken mistake, and no one ever had to know about it. Not even her best friend. In fact, she had better just forget about it.

She and Elaine laughed a few more minutes and then returned from behind the alcove.

"Victoire, I was wondering where you were. Meet Harry Potter," said Roger calling her over almost as soon as they appeared from behind the curtain.

"Oh, err, hi, nice to see you," said Victoire, blushing.

"Hey Toire, so this is your date for the evening?" said Harry nonchalantly.

"Err, yeah," she said awkwardly to her Uncle while Roger seemed to notice nothing.

"Oh, so isn't this your new daughter-in-law, Harry? Nice to meet you Elaine," said Roger shaking Elaine's hand. "Oh, and are you two friends? Of course you know the Potter's you would be about James' age."

"Yeah, and well, she looks just like her mum, Roger," said Harry grinning. He obviously was up to something. James got his troublemaking look from his father. "Don't you recognize her?"

"Well, do I know her mother?"

"It's my niece, Victoire Weasley!" laughed Harry.

"Oh.." said Roger suddenly looking shocked. "Bill's daughter?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes, you remember Fleur, his wife too? After all, you dated her back when we were all in school together, my fourth year?" Suddenly Elaine was snickering.

"See, he is OLD! Older than your Uncle Harry, as old as your mum!" laughed Elaine in her ear as Roger still looked shocked.

"Ewww," murmured back Victoire suddenly realizing how retarded she was. "Maybe we pick another candidate for plan O.B.G.Y.N."

"Agreed," laughed Elaine, while Victoire was pulled away by Roger, who was now rather uncomfortable also, to spend the rest of their night in awkward companionship. Teddy didn't even show up, and Victoire and Roger had agreed it wouldn't work out after Fleur met up with them and laughed about the "old days" and gave her daughter pointed looks that screamed "VAT THE 'ELL ARE YOU DOING?"

**Ahh... so i really think this chapter is a bit crazy... but don't hate me!! Just review!!! It was hard to write, let me tell you! I've been picturing this chapter since I started writing, and I like it... i guess... lol .... anyways... I'm sure all of you agree with Fleur... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?? but.. don't worry... my story (what isn't JKR's).. I write... u read! lol... I'm sorry its not longer, but I wanted to go into what Teddy has been doing, and it's quite long, so next chapter we'll hear his side of the story and learn what he thinks about Vic's speed dating... lol... Anyways... i do hope you like it... and so please please review! Let's get a lot of reviews!! **

**Elaine**

**P.S. Orion is in next chapter too!!! :)**


	13. The Black and White Wedding

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!!!!! Please review this chapter too, and sorry for all the delays, I'm so bad about updating when I say I'm going to lately!!!! All of the reviews really helped though!!!! Hint, Review this chapter!!!**

The entire time that Victoire had been attempting to make Teddy jealous, he had been trying to forget her. He had to forget that he had slept with her or things would be forever awkward. Who was he kidding? Things would never be the same. He had spent the entire two weeks, pent up in his apartment, gradually getting it messier and messier, until he finally decided he needed to go to someone. He had to tell someone. However, James was out of the question. That would be like committing suicide. Murphy on the other hand, well, he wasn't the best with girls. He had barely dated, and he always managed to mess up everything when it came to girls he liked. Teddy knew that left only one option, but, of the marauders, Orion did have the most experience with girls. He had both good and bad, and he would tell Teddy like it was, no sugar coating, no lies.

Deciding that the day before New Year's Eve would be the best day to visit his friend, Teddy made sure to owl him before arriving. Orion had moved into his new place in France the day after James' wedding. Orion had probably only stayed in England that long after Ophelia's deception because he was still trying to convince James not to marry Elaine. Now, he was living in France, working in the French Auror department. Very few knew he was going, and few knew who he really was in France. Teddy wasn't sure of all the details, but he didn't ask either. He was more concerned with his own issues, issues concerning a veela, alcohol, and hangovers.

"MOONY!" came the exclamation as Teddy emerged from the fireplace. Teddy felt himself engulfed in a giant hug. "Great to see you, great to see you!" exclaimed Orion. "Sit, sit, here, have a bottle!"

"Thanks, but I don't drink anymore, what is this? Muggle shite?"

"Err… yeah, we'll get to that later. But, how are you?! It seems like ages since I've seen a normal bloke, let alone a friend. All these Frenchmen are bloody pansies. No wonder they need us Englishmen to come in a do all their dirty work. Even the auror department is full of flames and girly men. We need more guys like us around here, you know, we can handle our emotions, we can do the dirty jobs, we wear the pants if you know what I mean. "

"Errr, yeah, exactly."

"So, what brings you here?" asked Orion taking a swig out of his firewhiskey, his casually messy black hair falling into his eyes a bit combined with the stubble on his face, making him look older and more dangerous than usual. He turned his intensely questioning gaze upon his friend, searing him with his steel grey eyes and Teddy felt that perhaps Orion had been expecting him for some time. "You look like shit? Have you been sleeping well?"

"Well, I came to you for some err.. advice." Teddy suddenly felt stupid.

"I'm not so good at the advice. May I interest you in a sarcastic comment?" quipped Orion. They both laughed and Teddy felt a little better about the serious conversation. "But really, why don't you tell me what is going on. "

"Well, remember James' wedding?" asked Teddy.

Orion raised an eyebrow questioningly. Smirking, he responded with "Parts of it."

"See, I think you and I might remember more of the same parts of it, the parts before we got wasted. Now, I remember up to the point where I made the speech, and then things start getting hazy. I remember dancing with Victoire, and then I remember getting cake, and then stealing some alcohol from I think it was a waiter. But, then the next thing I remember about that night is the next morning."

"Oh, wow, Teddy Lupin got wasted and doesn't remember it. Why does that seem familiar? Oh, maybe because it happens every other marauders night," replied Orion sarcastically.

"Did I say it was time for the sarcastic comments?" asked Teddy raising an eyebrow. "NO! Now listen to the rest of the story."

"Oh, I don't have to, it will probably go something like this… I woke up the next morning and was like… woah! I'm in a barn in the United States with my dream girl who looks exactly like Victoire Weasley, and we got married in Vegas and now I'm realizing I ruined my life and I might have a MTV and I don't know if it was even a great wedding night or not."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"Ohh, just some weird muggle movie I saw. I'm quite addicted to muggle Television, my favorite channel is STD, they have all these reality shows where these muggles do weird stuff. I'm telling you, muggles are CRAZY! There is this one that wears these clocks and has gross teeth and dates all these women, and it's a totally idiotic plot and I have no idea what they are doing, but really, it's hilarious to watch how dumb muggles are! At least the ones on reality TV are."

"Surprisingly, you aren't that far off. I woke up the next morning with Victoire, in her bed," said Teddy.

"NO!" laughed Orion. "That's just hilarious, Merlin is spiting you! AHAHAHA! You sleep with the girl of your dreams and don't even remember it!"

"That's what I thought. But this isn't funny! I woke up, panicked and morphed into Edward, so now she thinks she slept with Edward Bloody Knots, and not Theodore Idiot Lupin! I don't know what to do!"

"Like I said, insert sarcastic, now semidrunken comment here," laughed Orion, finding the entire situationhilarious.

"I SLEPT WITH VICTOIRE WHAT DO I DO NOW!" shouted Teddy frustrated.

"You know, I think this is good, get her out of your system. Good job on morphing too, now she doesn't know it's you. She's a veela! She isn't a witch to be trusted! You can't trust witches. They use charms, and potions, and who knows what else against us. You are better off without her. She probably used her veela charms to seduce you, and you don't actually like her at all, in the real mind, you hate her, but in the enchanted mind, you are insanely attracted to her, and so she controls you with that attraction."

"You are insane!"

"No, she's an evil veela, and you are better off without her. Good thing you morphed, very good thing. Now you can follow my example and find a muggle girl who is entirely uncomplicated, trustworthy, and beautifully shagable."

"WHAT? I thought you were giving up women?"

"Actually, I've decided to get married! And you're going to be my best man!"

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah, her name is Lia, and basically, she's the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me."

"But you, you, you said you were giving up women!" stuttered a dumbfounded Teddy.

"I said witches, not muggle women, I never said anything about muggle women. They are totally different you know. One thing is not the other, and muggle women are not witches."

"I knew that you couldn't give up women entirely, you player!" laughed Teddy.

"Ahh, no I couldn't, but let's not be pointing fingers Mr. I slept with a Veela and am retarded."

"Shut up! And you never gave me any advice!"

"I did so! A muggle woman, find one, date one, marry one!"

"When did you support marriage!" exclaimed Teddy. "You were horrible to James, trying to convince him not to marry Elaine."

"She's a witch! I'm still mad about that! I refuse to condone witch-wizard weddings!"

"Bloody hell Orion, you're insane!"

"No, I'm not, but I want you in my wedding, tomorrow. I'm in love, Lia is just the most amazing girl I've ever met! She's also the most beautiful! There is something special about muggle girls."

"So if you are getting married tomorrow? Is your family coming? Why am I your best man?"

"She thinks I'm a muggle! That's the beauty of it! I am going to live entirely as a muggle, besides work of course, but I already bought a muggle place, I'm going to stop doing magic at home, I'm going to be a perfect Muggle husband, and she'll be the perfect muggle wife, and we'll have no stupid magic between us!"

"What about your job? Your family? You'll be essentially lying to her!" exclaimed Teddy.

"I'm going to tell her the truth, sort of. My family lives in England, and won't be able to come see us much. Our wedding is quite abrupt, considering I only met her last week, but honestly, I don't know what I would do without her! This is true love, I'm telling you! And so then, neither of our families are coming for the wedding, it's going to be a simple ceremony. I actually wasn't going to tell you about it until I came to Egypt to kidnap you tomorrow morning. Luckily you are here now."

"What about your job? You can't exactly tell her that you track dark wizards for a living! And don't try to tell me you are getting a muggle job, that's just stupid and you aren't trained to do anything else. You are barely fit to be around muggles as it is!"

"I'm telling her that I'm a police officer, that's pretty much the muggle term for auror. It's not a lie!"

"It's not the truth!"

"It's close enough! Look, I love this girl, we are getting married, and don't ruin this for me! Honestly, Teddy, this is my Elaine, this is my Victoire Weasley, this is my person!" pleaded Orion, momentarily forgetting that he didn't think Elaine and James and Victoire and Teddy belonged together.

"Fine, I'll be your best man, you're crazy, but somehow, I don't think you are that crazy to just marry a random girl. She should at least be a good shag, and if she thinks you're a police officer, the divorce shouldn't cost you that much…"

"TEDDY! THIS IS MY FUTURE WIFE YOU ARE INSULTING!" shouted Orion, jumping to his feet angrily.

"Fine, why don't you tell me all about her then."

"Well, her name is Lia, Lia La'Blanc, and she's a muggle healer person, a nurse or a doctor, she works in the hospital. She's a doctor I think, she's very good I think. And she loves caring for people, she is just so loving, and when she meets someone, she has to help them, she has to figure everything about them out so she can cure whatever it is about them, even if it is just a broken heart. She can't stand someone being unhappy, and she just has this way of talking with you that all of your problems disappear, and you find a scrap of happiness in everything. And she's beautiful, by Merlin she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and I've seen James' Aunt Fluer, Victoire, and Nikki, in swimsuits! She's five, no ten, times more beautiful. She has these eyes, that just, and this hair… wow! And her smile! Ahh," Orion smiled slightly, a lovesick look across his face as he sighed. "You'll meet her tomorrow at the ceremony. You'll love her."

"How did you meet?" asked Teddy.

"It's quite the story, but this muggle bar, but then we went to a tea place, and then she invited me for Christmas Eve Dinner, and well, one thing led to another, but we're getting married tomorrow and I couldn't be happier!"

"So, this woman doesn't know you're a wizard? How are you going to explain all this?" asked Teddy waving his arms toward all of the magical crap in Orion's apartment.

"I bought a house in the suburbs. An actual house, and it's fully furnished. And we're moving in next week after our honeymoon at this hotel I booked for a few days. I'll move all my stuff and the great thing about this house is there is a secret room under the car house. I'm going to use my grandfather's bike, and I'll pretend to ride it into work, but I'm probably going to apparate after dropping it off somewhere for the day."

"What does she think of this house?"

"She likes it, I looked mostly at the car house, the inside was whatever. It's big, cost a hefty sum, but really, I'm a pureblood heir, I can afford pretty much anything I want."

"Okay, well, what am I supposed to do tomorrow then?"

"Just look like your normal self, Teddy Lupin, and no magic, only rules."

"GREAT!" exclaimed Teddy, annoyed. "Can I at least have my wand on me?"

"NO! Unless, you promise not to drink! Then it would be alright," said Orion.

"I'm obviously NOT drinking! That's what got me into this mess in the first place!" exclaimed Teddy angrily.

"What mess?"

"SLEEPING WITH VICTOIRE!"

"Oh, I forgot," said Orion sheepishly while Teddy fumed. His problems were obviously of no consequence to Orion.

The next day was the small wedding, a beautiful friend of Lia was the maid of honor. She was a pretty blond, that had to be almost as pretty as Victoire. In fact, Teddy had had a difficult time not staring at her the entire time. They were just so similar looking. The blond hair was the same shade, a shade he had always associated with Veelas, and the eyes although a dark brown, were long lashed, and wide. Even the straight teeth had a similar glisten. Teddy however did his best to ignore how pretty her friend was, and tried to concentrate on getting to know Orion's bride, who was indeed one of the most beautiful women he had ever met.

The small ceremony took place in a muggle courthouse, no decorations, she simply wore a white dress, her friend in a blue dress. He and Orion wore muggle suits, they weren't very different from dress robes anyways. Teddy barely registered when the Judge referred to the groom as Ryan Black instead of Orion Black. He didn't question the name change though. After, they had gone out to dinner at a fancy muggle restaurant, enjoying a small celebration. After the small celebration where Teddy still felt he hadn't gotten to know Orion's new wife, he flooed home.

Getting home, he walked through his apartment in a daze over what had occurred in the short span of the two days he had spent with Orion. Loosening the tie from around his neck, he glanced around the messy apartment. Frowning, his attention was drawn to those glaringly white pieces of parchment he had tossed aside after reading their contents.

_Dearest Tedders,_

_I missed you very much at Christmas today. It was such a wonderful day, I hope you got your present, and I enjoyed the books you got me. I'm looking forward to reading them. Today was quite eventful. Harry had a bit much to drink, Molly's eggnog should be put on the banned substances list, it's too good. Anyways, he was practically in tears that James was all grown up, and Ginny was the embarrassed one, what with her husband getting all emotional. Hopefully James and Elaine are enjoying their first Christmas together. Victoire brought the nicest boyfriend, Mark Roan, a healer she works with. He's very good looking, but perhaps a little old. Fleur is a bit younger than Bill, perhaps an older man complex runs in the family. I cannot honestly say I hope she stays with him, but he seemed nice enough. I'm sure I'll hear all about it when she comes for tea this week. I'll send you another letter then._

_Love,_

_Gran_

_Dear Tedders,_

_I'm sorry I didn't write sooner, but I was very busy on Friday, I had a card club, and then Saturday, I was doing some after Christmas shopping, and so, I decided to write this letter today, after I attended Sunday brunch. Victoire and that Roan character broke up, she told me all about it on Thursday. Apparently he was cheating on her, but she's seeing this new young man, Ned, who works with Percy Weasley. He's very ambitious at the ministry, and not so old. He's not quite as good looking or charming, but seems nice enough, if just a bit boring. Victoire seems to like him and brought him around for Sunday brunch. In any case, when are you coming home next? I miss you, and would love to see you soon. We barely saw each other at James' wedding, although I didn't get a chance to tell you I thought your speech was excellent. _

_Love,_

_Gran_

Teddy had fumed after reading those letters. Victoire was dating some schmuck from work, and then he cheated on her. He would murder the bloody bastard. And then there was that other character, Ned… sounded like a ponce, especially if he worked with Percy and was described as ambitious.

So she was dating now, she hadn't been expected to stay single forever. As much as he had hoped. Well actually, he had hoped she would revoke her singleness to him, and they would be the couple. But that was only in his dreams. He looked at the clock, it was midnight, happy bloody New Years. He was alone, Victoireless, depressed, and couldn't even drink away the pain as he had official made a New Year Resolution not to.

* * *

The next day, Victoire apparated to Godric's Hallow, making her way to the large house just on the outskirts of the town. It was a cold day, but bright and sunny. Ringing the bell, she was greeted by a house elf named Biff and led to the parlor.

"TOIRE!" exclaimed Elaine, coming downstairs dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a pretty purple top that matched her eyes.

"Elaine!" she said standing up, wishing she had dressed up a bit more, she was only wearing her favorite old Weasley sweater with the V on it, and a ratty pair of jeans she had had since sixth year.

"I'm so glad you came, I want to tell you everything about my honeymoon that I didn't get a chance to tell you about last night."

"Ewww, I don't want to hear about you and my cousin's sexcapades!" laughed Victoire wrinkling her nose.

"VIC!" laughed Elaine.

"But really, what's it like being a Potter?" asked Victoire seriously.

"Like being a Dridel with a different last name," Elaine replied sarcastically.

"That's not very exciting," Victoire said with a slight frown.

"Mmm… no, but really, it was a great honeymoon, and James is the absolute best husband, breakfast in bed every day, swimming, and just relaxing together. I haven't been that relaxed since before OWL year, honestly. I didn't think about HAREs once. But then again, since we've gotten back, I've been stressing about them so much!"

"Don't worry, we still have a few weeks before they come out, and I'm sure you did fine on them. Don't let stupid HARE results ruin your marital bliss."

"Yes, I just need something else to distract me, so how about that plan we were talking about?"

"What plan?" asked Victoire evasively. She was nervous about putting the so called plan into action after the disaster that was last night. Honestly, Roger Davies had dated her mother and her? EWWW!

"Plan get Theodore Lupin jealous when you find a super hot boyfriend. In fact, let's get cracking on this, how about we pick Dave, from the Permenant Spell Damage Ward?"

"No guys from work, I dated Mark, and no, no more guys from the Hospital."

"How about a patient though?"

"Tried it, Quinn Philips, let's not go there again."

"Hmm, what about that guy you brought to Tanya's wedding? That Freddie guy, he was cute! Really cute, and sweet too! Whatever happened to him?" asked Elaine excitedly as she believed she had come up with the most brilliant idea since floo powder.

"That WAS Teddy, in disguise! As horrible as that seems, I didn't want to go to another wedding alone! And I was tired of all the stupid looks of pity!" explained an embarrassed Victoire, turning red.

"Oh, wow, no wonder you seemed to genuinely like him."

"DUH!"

"Anyways, next option, how about, we find someone for you…. Errr… ahh… I KNOW!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "Remember when we were in fifth year and the head boy was that ravenclaw who was absolutely obsessed with you, and he offered to tutor you in every subject, and he followed you around, and tried to schedule you to patrol together, and used to stare at you during dinner, lunch, and breakfast, and used to try to sit by you at quidditch games, and had that scary shrine thing in his dorm?"

"Erm no, I totally forgot about that creepy stalker!" said Victoire sarcastically. "As much as I try to forget about him, I simply can't."

"Well, what about him?"

"What about him?" asked Victoire stupidly.

"I'm sure he would jump at the chance to date you, and he's good looking, very intelligent, comes from a good family, has a great job in the ministry, unspeakable, and then of course, he would dote on you and treat you like a princess. He's the perfect guy."

"Except I can't stand him, and I would be using him shamelessly," said Victoire.

"Well, I can't say that I don't see a problem with that either, but honestly, the guy snuck into our dorms, Merlin knows how, and stole your underwear. He deserves to be used."

"That's exactly why we shouldn't use him! HE'S AN EXIBIT A PHEDOPHILE!"

"Okay, that wasn't the most brilliant idea I've ever had… I think James' crazy ideas that never work and are entirely stupid are starting to wear off on me! AHHH MY HUSBAND IS WEARING OFF ON ME!" exclaimed Elaine.

"And there's something wrong with that love? I'm prefect after all, and an utter god, and all that other jazz you tell me every night," said James wiggling his eyebrows as he came into the room.

"TMI!" exclaimed Victoire covering her ears. "THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNCALLED FOR!"

"Aww, you ruin all my fun," said James ruffling his messy hair mischeviously. "What are you two lovely ladies doing this lovely morning?"

"NOTHING!" said Victoire a little too quickly.

"Oh, well, Victoire here had a disastrous date last night, and we were trying to think of someone new for her to date, she needs a nice man in her life, don't you think?" said Elaine, giving Victoire a pointed look as if to say she knew what she was doing. "You don't happen to know any nice single guys from work?"

"Errr…" said James, obviously torn. "I might know someone, I could set you up," said James reluctantly. He couldn't reveal Teddy's secret, and he couldn't refuse to set Victoire up with someone other than his best friend who was madly in love with her. Elaine's look was screaming that she wouldn't be happy with him if he refused. Damn manipulating wives who knew exactly how to get what they wanted. She was good… ooo she was good.

"Oh, do! I think a strong, devilishly handsome and intelligent auror, with a great sense of humor and a nice set of abs is just the thing for Vic here to get out of the dumps over her recent failed relationships!" said Elaine with a grin at James.

"I'll see what I can manage. That's a pretty tall order," said James before smirking. "Not everyone can be me."

"You mean lazy, loud, and arrogant?" asked Elaine, wiping the smirk from James' face. "And those are some of your better traits."

"I'll show you," he murmured darkly as he stalked from the room.

"We can't let him get too conceited, he already has me, and so he thinks he's on the top of the world. Have to knock him down a peg or two every few hours. He knows he's sexy as hell, undeniably intelligent, and makes me laugh more than anyone," Elaine whispered to Victoire.

"You are horrible!" laughed Victoire. "And, just as conceited as he is!" Elaine pouted prettily before laughing with Victoire.

"AHH!" exclaimed Victoire. "It's so frustrating! I just have to know! It drives me nuts! I mean, does he ever think, when he's all alone, what we could be? Where we could go? Am I just crazy or falling in love? Or is this just some stupid childhood crush that is way out of hand? I mean, does he have problems breathing when we're in the same room? Does he have to constantly hold himself back from attacking me with his lips, which are the most beautiful things I've ever seen? I mean, Ellie! I've tried and tried to walk away, but this stupid thing isn't going away!" Victoire burst out into tears.

"Aww, Toire, just, hopefully James will find some guy to get him off your mind. I know it's frustrating, but, he obviously doesn't feel the same way about you, or doesn't realize it. I'm sure you'll get him to notice you soon enough. No one can resist your veela looks, great personality, and amazing healer abilities for long. I would kill for your long legs, and most girls would pay galleons for your hair! Honestly! And you are so smart, and kind, and funny, and fun to be around! He just has to realize exactly what he's missing."

"But what if he already does?" asked the still tearful Victoire. "And he just doesn't care?"

**Guess the song inspiration to this chapter? haha, please review!!! I really want feedback!! I'm so excited about all the reviews I receive, every time I log on. PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**Thanks!!! Ellie**


	14. Stewart Sinclair

**I absolutely love this chapter!!! You better get reviewing!!!! Anyways without further ado, enjoy and read the notes at the end!**

Right now, Victoire really hated her cousin. Okay, maybe she didn't hate him, but she really wished had picked a date for her who was a little more punctual. The guy was fifteen bloody minutes late.

"Victoire?" came a voice. She looked up. This guy was gorgeous. She was totally forgiving James. His eyes were a beautiful blue, and his brown hair had that wonderful messy, yet cared for look that only some guys could pull off. He was fairly tall, taller than she was anyways, and had a strong jaw, along with some strong looking muscles. Ohh, he was HANDSOME! Good job James.

"Yes," she said with a flirty smile.

"Stewart Sinclair," he said holding out his hand palm up. She gently placed her hand in his, and he lifted it, brushing the back of her hand against his lips as he gave her a searing look. He was oozing charm and sexiness. James was GOOD!

"Nice to meet you," she murmured. Oh, he was perfect.

"He's so handsome, honestly, he's one of the best looking guys I've ever met, and he's from a very wealthy pureblood family. He's only twenty three, so, four years older really, and a half I guess. I was a second year when he graduated as head boy. He has such wonderful manners, even grandmamma wouldn't have a problem with them. He's an auror, and entirely dedicated to bringing down dark witches and wizards. And he's just… practically perfect," gushed Victoire before taking a sip of tea.

"That is so wonderful, darling. I am so glad you have finally found someone up to your standards," replied Andromeda happily.

"Mmm, yes, he's practically perfect in every way," said Victoire, keeping the disappointment out of her voice. Of coure he wasn't a metamorphagus with the funniest sense of humor, who knew exactly how to make her laugh or cheer her up, who could turn his hair blue, change his face into anyone and do a great impression, or talk to her about anything and everything for hours. Stewart wasn't quite as tall, his shoulders weren't as wide, his blue eyes weren't quite so amazingly blue, and well, Stewart's name wasn't Teddy Lupin. Damn.

"So now that you have the perfect boyfriend," said Andromeda as Victoire mentally corrected her in her head. PRACTICALLY perfect. "How is everything else going?"

"Oh, you know, I'm still upset about my stupid house. It's too big, too empty, and to be honest, a bit too expensive. But, I love my little greenhouse, and you won't find many places with greenhouses or even sunrooms. I love my plants. And then, while it's too big, and cleaning it's a pain, and it seems empty and creepy at night, I'm a bit lazy to go look for another place. Then, there is the hassle of moving. I know it's a pain, I just helped three of my best friends do it, ShiShi, Sarah, and Elaine. So, I guess, I'm probably going to stay, at least for a while longer."

"Well, if you ever need a place to stay, you and your plants are welcome here. There are plenty of extra bedrooms upstairs. Didn't you practically claim that one across the hall from Teddy's when you were younger? I think it still has your things up there, I don't bother it, or Teddy's room. It is of your room here."

"Yeah, the lavender room with the east facing window. I always loved that room because the sun always came in first thing in the morning, and it was always so pretty."

"Nymphadora loved that room too. It was hers you know," said Andromeda thoughtfully. "She loved the way the sun came in too. She always complained that she missed the way the sun came in every morning when she was at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I never knew that," said Victoire feeling guilty for the time when she was five or so, and had begun turning the room into her own. She was ruining the sanctity of Teddy's mum's room. She had moved things, she had put her own things in there. She was sure that she had clothes in the drawers, toys and dolls, books, and papers in that room.

"Oh, don't give me any nonsense about that room, I loved having you stay in it. It was wonderful to see life in there again, especially such a vibrant one as yours. Nymphadora was very vivacious, just like you. She was best friends with your Uncle Charlie in school, and they were always getting into trouble, always playing some new game, an adventure with aurors, dragons, and of course the random prince in shining armor. She was just like you, always running around playing wild games with Teddy and James."

"Thank you, I feel a little guilty, but if it didn't bother you, thank you for letting me stay there."

"Of course, now have you heard anything?"

"NO!" exclaimed Victoire frustratedly. "It's driving me crazy! I'm so stressed to know how I did, and I'm guessing it's going to be more around six weeks or so before I get the results. They said approximately 4-6 weeks, and I just know I will be one of those that doesn't hear until the first week of February or the last week of January. Stupid HAREs."

"Ted, my Ted, was a healer too. I remember him taking his HAREs, he was so stressed. He of course did wonderfully on them. He was stupid to think he would have done otherwise. I'm sure you'll hear back soon with good news."

"Thanks, I'll let you know as soon as I do. Then we can celebrate together."

"Of course," said Andromeda with a smile. "So, how are the wedding plans for your cousin coming? She is getting married the end of the third week of February, right?"

"Yes, it's coming up fast. I went to France this Tuesday to get fitted for my dress. It's absolutely beautiful. It's the most beautiful shade of pale blue, with silver embroidery on it, we have silver shoes, and it's going to be amazing. I'm so excited, the dress style is absolutely gorgeous, very tight in the torso and bust, before flaring out. The sleeves are short and poufy, and we're wearing long gloves, and it's going to be very traditional and elegant."

"Yes, that sounds lovely dear, I'm so glad you're excited for this wedding now, at first you weren't. Well, did you say you were going out for dinner tonight with Stewart? It's getting late, and I'm sure you want to get ready," said Andromeda glancing at the clock with a frown.

"Yes, of course," said Victoire surprised at the time. "I had such a wonderful time talking to you. Will I see you at Sunday Brunch?" she asked.

"Well, if you bring Mr. Perfect. I would like to meet him," replied Andromeda with a smile. "I want to see for myself if he is really is so wonderful."

"Oh, I'll bring him," laughed Victoire giving the old woman a hug and gathering her bag. "Goodbye, and thank you for the wonderful afternoon. Send my love to Teddy."

For the next three weeks, she brought him to the family dinners with her mum and dad too. And she went out with him almost every other night. They saw muggle movies, went to plays, went shopping, ate dinner, had snowball fights, even went to a concert together. He was the epitome of a perfect boyfriend, but every little thing he did, she couldn't help but compare it to Teddy.

It was a Thursday morning, the second to last week of January when the owl swooped in the window. Victoire was eating a lonely bowl of cereal. Honestly, she missed the days that Elaine was here and cooked breakfast for her every morning. Now James got her delicious breakfast every morning. Urg. With shaking hands, Victoire removed the letter from the owl's foot anxiously. Taking a deep breath, she opened the envelope.

"**Congratulations,"** she read, letting out a huge sigh. She scanned the rest of the letter, seeing that she had passed all portions of the exam with flying colors and had received her Healer Accreditation and could get her Registration License today at work. She had done particularly well on the medicinal portion of the test that had to do with potions and plants used in treatments. Smiling with huge relief, she felt a huge burden lift from her shoulders. She had been so tense, and emotional over this stupid thing, thank goodness it had come.

Suddenly her fireplace glowed green, Elaine bursting from it with a huge tell-tale grin on her face. "I GOT MY LETTER!" she shrieked, waving a piece of parchment around wildly.

"Me too!" squealed Victoire running over to hug her friend. "Made it! Passed with flying colors! I got an overall grade of an O! My numeric score seems very high too!"

"DITTO!" The two jumped up and down excitedly together before working out their emotions and falling into an exhausted heap on the couch.

"Ahh, now we have to go to work, let's go get our pictures taken for our licenses right when we get there, and then we'll see who else passed!" suggested Elaine.

"What did James say?"

"Didn't tell him yet, but he passed his CATs and got the letter yesterday afternoon, all O's for his too. We celebrated all night," said Elaine suggestively. "I'm expecting quite the repeat performance tonight." Victoire's mouth hung open, but Elaine simply giggled, blushed, and apparated to work. Grabbing her wand and her bag, Victoire did the same.

Both of them had the biggest smiles ever, and were simply radiating happiness in their license pictures. They walked through the hospital, so excited not to be healer trainees, but full fledged Healers. Not yet Resident Healers, they had quite a few more months before they weren't really interns anymore. Now they just had RATS, Resident Accreditation Tests and Specialization. What did she want to specialize in, Victoire had absolutely no idea. However, today was a day to celebrate, she would go out with Stewart, eat a delicious dinner at the nicest restaurant, and have dessert, spoil herself, maybe she would go to the spa this weekend.

The day went great, being complimented on their performance on the exam by Healer Nelson. Apparently, they were the two trainees with the highest numeric scores. The two were bursting with excitement and happiness as they got off work, entering the hospital lobby. And then, there in the middle of the lobby with glowing red and gold letters flashing above their heads in a magical sign stood James and Stewart, both with large bouquets of flowers. Elaine sprinted toward James with a happy giggle, accepting the lilies happily. Victoire, was a little more calm, a bit embarrassed by the huge CONGRATULATIONS that James had charmed to float above their heads. She smiled, giving her boyfriend of only a few weeks, a chaste kiss. She didn't even want to look over at James and Elaine, who were probably snogging like there was no tomorrow. Married couples. Hmpf.

The four went out and celebrated at The Three Brothers, apparently James had gotten reservations every night for three weeks so that they would have a table no matter what the night that Elaine got her results. It was her favorite restaurant. James had wanted to celebrate with champagne and toast the two new Healers repeatedly, but Elaine had suggested that they simply eat since she knew her friend was adamant about no drinking. Especially ever since their wedding, even though she hadn't explained why. After the delicious dinner that had cost quite a bit, along with delicious desserts, they had separated, Elaine's look obviously promising James that they were going to celebrate even more once alone. Victoire and Stewart walked home together before he dropped her off at her door. But not before she had kissed him quite thoroughly. One thing she liked was that she never had to compare Stewart to Teddy when it came to kissing. She had never kissed Teddy, she just secretly hoped that he was better than Stewart.

It wasn't until almost eleven, when she was getting ready for bed that she remembered she hadn't gone to tea with Granny Tonks. She hurriedly wrote a letter of apology, saying how she had been so excited, and then when James and Stewart had arrived to take them out and celebrate, she had forgotten all about her tea date. She also scratched notes to a few of her family members. By the time she was ready for bed, she was so tired. She hadn't been up this late in ages, preferring to get good night's sleep. After sending off the letters with her owls, she crawled into bed, finally relaxed for the first time since she had taken her HAREs. She had almost forgotten what it felt like.

The next morning, she woke up, expecting to still be on that high from the day before. However, she definitely didn't feel great. All that food last night was coming back to haunt her, and perhaps it wasn't the best idea to get the linguini with the marinated fish in that funny purple sauce. Her stomach hurt, and so she drank a bit of tea to settle it, ate some crackers, and headed to work.

"Urg," said Elaine as they walked into the locker room at almost the same time. Elaine looked like shit.

"Celebrate a bit too much with the husband last night?" joked Victoire. Elaine groaned and laid down on the wooden bench in the locker room, curling up a bit.

"I was fine last night, woke up this morning. I think…" suddenly she stopped talking, turning absolutely green. "Think, food, poisoning." She said as she rushed to the bathroom. Victoire followed, listening as Elaine threw up. It really wasn't helping with her nausea that Elaine was puking. She sat down outside the bathroom door, trying to be there for her friend, but also feeling pretty nasty herself.

"I had the linguini with the fish and purple sauce, what did you have?" asked Victoire, praying that her friend hadn't had the same, but vaguely remembering that she had ordered the same.

"SAME!" came Elaine's voice between sputtering chokes. "But I didn't get the linguini, I just had the fish and purple sauce, the larger portion," she said, wiping her mouth and coming out of the bathroom. Maybe it's just hitting me first?" Victoire nodded, she could make it through the day, she wasn't going to have food poisoning.

The two, both feeling sick from their horrid meal last night, went out to be assigned for the day by Healer Nelson.

"So," said Healer Nelson as everyone arrived around her. "We have the two healers with the highest scores on the HARE in all of Britain, so we thought we would have a little celebration today." The people cheered and turned to Victoire and Elaine, both of whom looked a bit out of sorts. Victoire was looking on the pale side, and Elaine's hair was a mess, her eyes were a dull grey, and there were bags under her eyes. Healer Nelson revealed a cake as everyone clapped for the two.

Suddenly Victoire's eyes bulged, carrot cake, bloody carrot cake! Rushing to the nearest waste bin, she threw up the tea and crackers she had eaten for breakfast. Elaine looked at her miserably.

"Nothing left in my own stomach," she said. Everyone stared at the two who had collapsed together into two random wheel chairs.

"ARE YOU TWO HUNGOVER?" demanded Healer Nelson angrily. "HONESTLY, OF COURSE YOU CAN CELEBRATE, BUT COMING IN FOR YOUR FIRST DAY AS REAL HEALERS, HUNGOVER!"

"NO!" exclaimed the two together. "FOOD POISONING!" they moaned.

"WHY WOULD I BELIEVE THAT!?" demanded the angry head healer.

"Because Victoire doesn't drink at all, and we went to the Three Brothers, and both had the fish last night. And we both feel like crap, and all I did was shag my husband last night, not drink," said Elaine miserably, most likely not realizing everything she said.

Healer Nelson walked over, performing a quick spell on the two, causing both of their hair to flash blue. "Obviously haven't been drinking, I don't detect any alcohol in your systems," she said as the rest of the healers gaped. What a spell! Hopefully she never did that on any of them. "If you had been drinking you would have flashed Red or Orange. Go home. If you're sick, you have no business working. Hopefully it's not the flu. I wouldn't be surprised if you two had the same illness," said the authoritative healer.

"Yes, Madame," said Victoire, pulling a protesting Elaine with her to the locker room.

"BUT I'LL BE FINE ONCE I START WORKING! HONESTLY!"

"Let's go to my place," said Victoire. "We'll snuggle up with blankets, and buckets, and some good old muggle television." Elaine nodded grudgingly.

"Alright, I'll owl James, so he knows where I am. I'm tired, might need nap." Victoire nodded, dragging her friend who was a little worse for the wear than her out of the hospital.

The day had been spent with the two girls snuggled up on the couch. Both had taken naps, neither had thrown up again, and by noon they had been actually hungry. Braving the thought of throwing up again, the two had eaten light lunches of cheese and cracker sandwiches, and some muggle soda pop that Elaine swore settled the stomach. When they didn't throw any of that up, they had both been very hungry, and so the refrigerator had been opened, and they had nearly emptied its contents. They had eaten ice cream, some chocolate frogs, some pineapple and watermelon, some turkey sandwiches with cheese and mustard and lettuce and tomato and black olives, and then some carrots and chips with dip. About five, they were considering ordering pizza when James arrived via floo.

"So, what have you two sick girls been doing all day?" he said walking over to their nests of blankets on the couch.

"Watching muggle television and napping," said Victoire, hiding the chocolate frog wrappers.

"Hmm, well I brought you some chicken noodle soup, if you feel up to eating it. You said you both threw up," he said with a frown looking at Elaine, as if checking for other symptoms.

"I still have all my fingers and toes, I'm not running a fever, and I haven't broken out into purple and green spots as of yet," she said sarcastically as she looked at the steaming thermos of soup he had brought. "Why couldn't you bring pizza?"

"Pizza? I thought you were sick?" questioned James.

"Well, we're better now," said Victoire with a grin. She wanted Pizza too.

James seemed to take in the room. "Yes, of course, chocolate frogs, ice cream, chips, dip, carrots, sandwiches, and muggle television, I'm sure you've cured yourselves. I'm sure this is a St. Mungo approved healing method."

"Well, I feel better, but I might need one more little thing to cure me," said Elaine looking like she had a plan.

"What?" asked James, looking ready to jump into action to do whatever Elaine wanted him to.

"Could you kiss it and make it better?" asked Elaine pouting and pointing to her mouth with a twinkle in her eye. James grinned and kissed her, causing both of them to smile, and Victoire to gag at the pure lovey doveyness.

"Don't make me sick again!" she exclaimed. The three ended up ordering Pizza, which Victoire later threw up that night. Eww, she definitely ate too much crap. Not twenty minutes later, just as she was getting in bed, she received an owl from Elaine who had also thrown up, maybe they weren't cured. James was laughing about the reasons that their healing methods weren't approved, but Victoire wrote back, saying they should stay in together the next day, sleep and get some rest, limiting their diet to things that wouldn't make them ill. It was only cheese, crackers, soda, water, and perhaps some apple slices until they were 100% better.

By Monday, neither one was better. Both had returned home from the Weasley brunch after feeling sick at the mere smell of Molly's cooking. They were both still throwing up regularly the little food they were eating, and both were sleeping the majority of the day. Being sick was no fun. Victoire really preferred the other side of healthcare, the care part.

They owled in sick to work Monday, revealing that they must indeed have the flu. Healer Nelson had written back telling them to stay away from the hospital in that case. The last thing they needed was to return to work too early and get everyone sick. She sent them some pepper up potion, and said she hoped they felt better soon. Later, when James came to pick up Elaine that night, he had taken on glance at their steaming ears and laughed. "Now THAT is a St. Mungo's approved healing method."

It didn't work either, as both were still home and miserable on Tuesday. Both were bored of being sick, even if it was together. They played muggle card games, watched muggle movies, did a bloody 2,000 piece puzzle. At least they had each other to talk to though. They definitely had their chats, especially concerning Teddy and Stew. Stew still didn't stack up. And they weren't sure how plan O.B.G.Y.N. was working. They may have run out of things to do, but they didn't run out of things to talk about.

Wednesday, Elaine owled to see if Victoire was going in to work. Apparently James was making her go to the doctor because he was worried. He didn't know if there was some sort of potion that the doctor could give her, and he was worried because the already small Elaine had obviously lost some weight in the five days of not eating much or being able to keep down food. James had taken the day off from work and everything.

Victoire was just wishing that she could feel better. She had decided to eat a bit more today, having some warm oatmeal. If she threw it up, she threw it up, but she was so fatigued, she didn't know what to do. She needed someone like James to take care of her. She had told Stew she didn't need him to take care of her, but she really just didn't want him to. She wanted her mum, or her dad, or Teddy. Grandma Molly or Granny Tonks would do too. But, really, more than anyone else, she wished Teddy could be here.

By noon, she was so bored. She had slept for quite a while, tried to find something good on television, and had munched on way too many crackers that she would probably throw up later in the evening. By three, she was dying of boredom, so when Elaine burst through the floo, she was startled yet happy.

"Ellie! You came to save me from my misery!" she joked.

"VICTOIRE!" she exclaimed happily. "I just got back from the doctor."

"By the look on your face, I'm expecting that whatever we have isn't fatal," replied Victoire sarcastically as Elaine sat down.

"Well, what I have isn't fatal," she said with a bit of humor to her voice. "I don't know what you have, probably just the flu."

"So, what's the diagnosis?" asked Victoire sipping her soda through a purple bendy straw. She could tell that Elaine was dying to tell her what was wrong with her.

"I'M PREGNANT!" exclaimed bouncing a bit on the couch. Lemon-lime soda spurted out of Victoire's nose painfully fizzing. Elaine gave a look of disgust. "Not exactly the reaction I expected." She whipped out her wand and cleaned up the mess with a scourgify and a drying charm.

"Well, you just kinda threw that one on me," sputtered Victoire.

"Well, sor-rie," said Elaine a bit tiffed.

"So, what did the doctor say?" asked Victoire, regaining herself.

"Well, I'm about six weeks along. James was so excited! He is going to be bragging about this forever, pretty much impregnating me on the honeymoon if not the wedding night! He is out already looking for a little Puddlemere United outfit for it, because he's just sure it will be a boy. And oh, it's just so exciting! We planned on children, just not right away! And, oh, I'm so excited. The baby should be due about September 14, but oh Toire! I'm so excited! I thought I was late because I was so stressed about stupid HAREs. And I pretty much forgot I even had a period! I didn't even think about it, I was so wrapped up in stupid HARE stress, and then we were celebrating, and then I was sick, and well, WOW!" Elaine's pure joy at the news was evident in her repetitive and overly excited monologue as Victoire absorbed the news.

"Elaine! I'm so excited for you!" exclaimed Victoire, now over the shock and quite excited for her friend. "I can't believe my cousin is having a baby! My best friend is having a baby! I'm so happy for you! It will be the smartest, prettiest, most wonderful little being ever!" The two friends embraced happily. "When are you going to tell everyone?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh, not until the end of this trimester, don't want to jump the gun, but probably when I'm about eleven or twelve weeks. I know! My birthday! I'll tell everyone at my birthday!"

"Oh, Grandma Molly and Ginny will be so excited, and I'm sure your mum too!" gushed Victoire.

"I can't believe I'm pregnant, it just hasn't sunk it yet, I mean, really, I didn't even realize…" said Elaine, reverting to being stunned.

"Oh, well, if you missed your period, and you're sick, and you and James have…" suddenly Victoire broke off, eyes widening.

"What's wrong? Are you going to be sick?" asked Elaine, waved a hand in front of her friends face a few times before Victoire snapped out of the trance she was in. "Thought we lost you there for a minute."

"Sorry, thinking," laughed Victoire.

"Well, what about?" asked Elaine, munching on some crackers, causing her to look a bit like a chipmunk.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow?" asked Victoire getting up and ushering her friend to the fireplace. "Considering you aren't sick after all."

"Err, yeah, do you want me to leave?" asked Elaine confused.

"Err, I'll be over later, I just remembered I have to… water my plants. Haven't done that in days… and er.. well… I hate to kick you out, but I've got to go, bye!" she said practically pushing her friend into the fireplace and throwing the floo powder in. "Potter Manner!" she shouted. Elaine was frowning as Victoire watched her disappear.

**So, did you love it? Review!!!!!! Anyways, just some quick comments, i loved everyone's ideas to have stewart be Teddy in disguise, two people suggested that. Also, Loved Libby's comment on how Orion is insane... yes, he sorta is. It made me laugh so much!!! And yes, James would be hurt, but James can't go to the wedding or it ruins the plot.... duh duh duh... Anyways, I did have that typo last chapter, I don't even know how that happened, but it was a total accident. Anyways, like I said, you have to review this chapter, so do it!!! Lol, that sounded meaner than I mean it... lol, Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed last time and to those who will review now!! You guys are the best!**

**Elaine A. Abbene**


	15. Birthday Parties & Hogsmeade Weekends

**My reviewers ROCK!! Thanks for those of you who reviewed!! I really appriciated all the great feedback and I hope you like this chapter. You guys are amazing!! And _some_ of you are on the right track with plot guesses! Also, thanks to AuthorAngel14 who told me how to replace chaps and all... ENJOY!!!**

Victoire stared hard at the objects in a neat line on her bathroom counter. Most of the directions had said it took 1-3 minutes. Whatever happened to instant results? She swore that was on all of those muggle infomercials. Lose weight fast! INSTANT RESULTS! It was quotable. Looking at her watch, she frowned, taking a deep breath before picking up the first item in the line.

"These muggle things are rubbish," she muttered to herself as she flipped through the little instructions papers. "Does the plus sign mean 'Yeah!, you're not pregnant,' or 'Yeah! new life!'?" She picked up the box. "Oh look, it's on the stupid box, oh, see these muggle things _are_ rubbish! I don't see how peeing on a stupid stick will tell me if I'm pregnant, and this one is obviously wrong… where is the next one?" She dismissively set aside the first white stick and picked up a second. "What about this one? Two pink lines, well that is super obvious as to what that means!! Errr…. Ooo Obviously rubbish too… 99 percent effective, well obviously I want something that is 100%. Duh." Tossing it aside, she picked up the next white stick on the counter. "This one is a little clearer as to what the result is but it's obviously wrong!" she said setting aside the stick that had a display clearly reading 'pregnant'. "Eww, this one was the gross one, where I had to pee in the cup. Two lines again, that must mean, yep, okay, next. Ahh… the wizard tests. These are way more accurate considering they have to do with blood, except that poking my finger thing kinda hurt. Okay, first one, turned from clear to blue. What does that mean?" she looked at the label. "Okay that means that maybe wizard tests aren't that accurate after all." She picked up the final thing on the bathroom counter. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!? This is the final straw, this did not just turn purple! No. It definitely didn't." Sitting down against the bathroom wall, she looked at the line of tests along the counter. Leaning her head back against the wall, she started sobbing.

It was nearing ten o'clock, and James still wasn't home from the bar where he was celebrating the fact he would be a father. Elaine on the other hand was waiting for him to come home. In the meantime, Elaine was content to read the multitude of pamphlets that the doctor's office had given her. Midway through a pamphlet, she looked up, startled, to see that the floo network was activating. Moments later Victoire stepped out. She had on some baggy scrubs, that she had probably been lounging around in, and her hair was in a severe pony tail, not very Victoire-like. Elaine couldn't help but notice her eyes were a bit red, and puffy.

"Vic!" she exclaimed tossing aside the pamphlets. "Are you okay?" She rushed across the room to embrace her friend.

"No," said Victoire sniffling into her sleeve but managing to keep herself from bursting into tears.

"Aww, Vic, I know that I'm not sick anymore, but if you need to be taken care of. I hadn't really thought about it, but James takes such good care of me, but you're all alone. Here, I'll have one of the house elves prepare a room for you in the guest wing."

"It's not necessary, I'm not sick," interrupted Victoire.

"Ohh, well what's wrong?" asked Elaine gently, trying not to upset her friend more than she already was. Victoire barely cried. There was a lengthy silence between the two women, yet neither said anything. The silence seemed to have a screaming loudness to it, and when Elaine thought she couldn't stand it anymore, Victoire finally spoke.

"So," she said pausing. "I'm pregnant." There was a brief shocked silence before Elaine found her senses.

"WHAT! YOU'RE PREGNANT!?!?" she practically screamed.

"Say it a little louder, they can't hear you in Azcaban!" snapped Victoire hastily looking around the room.

"Well," said Elaine, shocked. "I mean, are you sure? Maybe it's just a scare like Sarah and Frank seventh year. Maybe it's just a false alarm, you could be late for a number of medical reasons, which being a healer.."

"Of course I'm sure!" retorted Victoire edgily, interrupting her friend yet again. "I took four muggle and two magical tests!" she exclaimed, emptying the contents of her purse onto the coffee table with a clang. The stoppered potion flasks rolled around noisily on their sides, blue and purple liquid sloshing in them, and the four white sticks were glaringly white against the dark wood of the coffee table.

"Oh," said Elaine, still shocked as she looked into her terrified friend's face. Suddenly something dawned on her. "HOW!?"

Victoire's shoulders sagged. "Well, remember your wedding night?" Elaine nodded, a small smile on her face. "Well, I don't! I don't remember much after drinking quite a bit of alcohol, and then the next morning I woke up in bed with some wizard I don't even know. And now, I'm having his baby! A drunken mistake! How could I!? I was saving myself for Teddy! Yes, that's why I've been so anti-alcohol since your wedding. Yes, that probably had something to do with my spree of men and the development of my plan to make Teddy Jealous. And yes, I'm a complete idiot, but I didn't want to ever have to tell my best friend how much I screwed up!" She let her face fall into her hands and a few dry sobs wracked her body as Elaine awkwardly patted her back.

"What are you going to do?" whispered Elaine gently rubbing soothing circles on her friends back and petting Victoire's silvery blond hair in a calming manner.

"I don't know, of course I'll keep it. I couldn't give it away, but beyond that," murmured Victoire through her hands. Suddenly shooting her head up she looked at her friend with wild eyes. "You can't tell anyone! NOT EVEN JAMES! I can't face them!"

"Well, you'll have to tell everyone sometime," she said logically.

"Maybe I should go to America, or better yet, Australia! Which is further?" asked Victoire, suddenly panicked.

"You can't do that! Your family would be more devastated if you ran away like that. Of course, I'm sure they will be disappointed, but facing them is better than running away every day of the week. They will support you and be there for you. They know you're going to need them. They love you!" protested Elaine.

"YES! I CAN! AND I WILL!" exclaimed the panick stricken Victoire.

"NO!" shot back Elaine, the gleam in her eyes telling Victoire that she was about to lose this argument. "ARE YOU A GRYFFINDOR OR NOT!?" demanded Elaine. Yup, Elaine-1, Victoire-0.

"Yes," she admitted dejectedly.

"Then I won't hear anymore nonsense about running away. We'll wait for the perfect time, after you've primed them, and tell them. They can't be that angry."

"No, of course not, they all only have Weasley or Veela Tempers," replied Victoire sarcastically.

"In the meantime, I'm sure you have a lot to think about," replied Elaine. "What about the father?"

"What about him? I don't bloody know him!"

"Okay, well, what about, erm… Stew."

"Stew?" said Victoire confused for a second. "OH! STEW! The Stew that I'm dating, not soup… that sounds bloody good right now. Erm… I guess I'll have to break it off with him. I feel kind of bad for using him this entire time, but, er… okay enough about him, I'll break it off as soon as I can. Can we get something to eat?"

Elaine smiled. "Sure, and then, tomorrow, you're coming with me to my doctor's appointment during lunch. I'm seeing Healer Gardner, and James would come, but he has several meetings tomorrow, and we wanted to get our appointment in as early as possible. You'll come with me, and Healer Gardener can look at you too. No one will even have to know you had an appointment."

"Fine," muttered Victoire irritably, but secretly she was pleased, she wanted someone to hold her hand and tell her everything would be okay. "But can we please get something to EAT!"

"Yes, but first, this," said Elaine leaning across the couch. She engulfed her friend in a huge hug. "I love you, you are my best friend, and I'll support you through this. Now our babies can be best friends too." This set both girls off into crying fits, only partially enhanced by the hormones.

* * *

Three weeks later on Thursday the 14th, Victoire and Elaine were both considered to be in their ninth week of pregnancy. Both had confirmed due dates of September 14th, and both were adjusting to the idea. Elaine was getting ready for her birthday party, being held at the flat above the Weasley Wizarding Weeze's Hogsmeade Branch. Albus, Rose, Hugo, Lily, Dominique, Louis, and the rest of the cousins were sneaking out after classes and coming to the party instead of dinner in the great hall. Apparently Uncle Harry wasn't worried about them getting caught because Albus had some sort of special map he was going to use to sneak them all out through some secret passage.

Victoire had helped James and Elaine set up the party, which they were using as their first formal event as a couple, and to announce their pregnancy. That was why they wanted all the kids from Hogwarts there. Victoire had picked up the pink and purple cake from the bakery, and waited while Elaine got dressed in a bright purple off the shoulder jumper and tight fitting jeans. Elaine looked amazing, glowing with pregnancy, and still as slender as ever. Victoire, who wanted to remain as low key as possible, was merely wearing a warm Weasley sweater, and jeans. She too hadn't gained weight, but she just wanted to avoid the eyes of her family altogether.

"Ellie!" called James from the bathroom where he was getting ready for the party while Victoire and Elaine prepared to transport all the food from the kitchen. "Where is my blue jumper?"

"James!" called back an agitated Elaine. "WIZARD!"

"Oh yeah!" he called back. He came downstairs moments later, adjusting his square framed glasses and wearing a deep blue sweater. "Forgot about summoning charms for a minute there," he said sheepishly.

"Yup, that's why you've got me to remind you," laughed Elaine, kissing him, causing him to blush even more. Victoire looked away. Valentine's day, and she had broken up with Stewart the week before.

The three transported themselves to Hogsmeade via apparition, bringing the food with them. Almost all of the family arrived shortly after. Grandma Weasley brought a ton of food, Aunt Hermione brought some healthier things, while Aunt Ginny brought many many sweets. Aunt Audrey brought ice cream, while Aunt Angelina and Uncle George provided the alcoholic drinks, and Aunt Alicia brought the rest of the drinks. Victoire's own parents had brought fresh baked breads and rolls with several homemade spreads and jams. It was a delicious meal in the large warehouse room above the store which Uncle George had decorated for the occasion with banners, streamers, balloons, and confetti. Everyone was enjoying the food, and thought the Valentine's Day Birthday was a prefect excuse to bring the family together.

Uncle George had set up several round tables for everyone to eat at, and most of the older children were at one, while the younger children were at another, and the adults had split up into a few tables among themselves. Dinner was nearly over, when James stood up and cleared his throat loudly.

"Hey everyone!" he said in his usual jocular tone. "Just wanted to tell you all, thanks for coming to Ellie's birthday. We haven't even been married for two months, but she says she already feels like one of the family. In fact, I'd like to make an announcement, come on Lainey, stand up. Okay, well, our announcement is that while Elaine feels like she's really become one of the family in such a short time, we're going to be adding one more to the family in a short while." He grinned broadly, his arm wrapped around Elaine who also was smiling uncontrollably. "Ellie's pregnant!" he exclaimed happily as some people clearly didn't understand the implications of what he was saying.

Grandma Weasley, Elaine's mum, and Ginny were by the couple's side in seconds. Ginny was hugging her daughter-in-law happily, exclaiming over the suddenness of it. Grandma Weasley was questioning her on who her healer was, what kind of prenatal potions she was taking, how she felt, and when she was due. Harry was the first to come over and clap James on the back, closely followed by all his uncles and Grandpa Arthur. Everyone was obviously excited for the couple, asking what plans they had for the baby, if and when they would find out the sex of the baby, and what they planned to do about Elaine's job as a healer.

Victoire, who had chosen to sit in the corner table with some of the younger children so that her Aunt Alicia could sit with the adults and she could remain unnoticed, observed the entire scene with a pang. This was the total opposite reaction they would have when she told them her big news, that she too was pregnant, that she was having a baby, due the same day as Elaine's. Her pregnancy would be received so differently from Elaine's, and she couldn't bear to picture it. Mournfully, she adjusted Aunt Alicia and Uncle Charlie's newest baby, Anthony. Aunt Alicia and Uncle Charlie's kids were so much younger, and it seemed they were planning on more. Victoire was pretty sure they wanted another girl. Good luck with that you Wealsey's! she thought scornfully.

Victoire wiped her eyes, trying to make it seem causal, but she really didn't want anyone to see her crying over this. Why did this have to happen to her? It was a one night drunken mistake. And now, she was going to have a baby, pretty much about the same time she finished her residency for healer training. She was unmarried, she was not financially independent and would have no one to rely on. Heck, to top it off, she didn't even know the father. She was terrified of her family's reaction. She just wished they could react like this.

James, golden grandchild, the eldest, the headboy, the quidditch star, the promising auror, who married his Hogwarts sweetheart, who got straight O's on his NEWTs, who could make everyone laugh, was going to be a father. Of course they were happy. Now she, the second grandchild, who just happened to be born on a day that they would all rather forget, who some of her family probably thought was a blond bimbo, who was unmarried, and barely had boyfriends, who had only made prefect as a seventh year, and had been an utter failure at quidditch, was pregnant. While they were ecstatic for James, they would most likely disown her. She choked down some more tears, and forced herself to remain as stoic as possible.

Looking up, she was surprised to see Rose in front of her. "Do you want me to take little Anthony?" asked Rose with a slight smile. Victoire nodded, not trusting her voice, and retreated to a shadowy corner by the punch bowl, sipping a pumpkin juice and watching the reaction that she wished could be hers with envious eyes. How had she gotten herself into this? It wasn't like her at all to sleep with a random guy, it wasn't like her at all to drink, it wasn't like her at all. This wasn't her, this wasn't her life. This had to be just a dream.

* * *

Two days later was a Saturday, and Victoire was aimlessly wandering Hogsmeade. The apartment had been stuffy, she had needed to get away. And somehow she had ended up here as her place to think about everything. She figured it was a good place to get away from things. However, around ten, she began noticing the streets become crowded. Realizing it was a Hogsmeade Weekend for Hogwarts students, she groaned. Stepping off onto a side street that was usually not on the main path for Hogwarts students, she continued her thoughtful walk while pretending to be interested in the shop displays.

Victoire frowned. What was she doing here? Staring up into the shop window, she shivered. It was cold, and this was creepy. A blond female mannequin was magiced to play happily with a small blond haired, blue eyed baby. The model looked so happy, bouncing the baby around, making the plastic child's face light up with silent laughter. The long blond hair on the model was nearly the same silvery veela blond, and the blue eyes, almost the same bright blue as her own. Victoire's eyes filled with tears. Would she and her baby be that happy? She wiped at her eyes, wondering if she should go into the shop and buy an outfit or something. ACK! She was too emotional, stupid hormones.

"Hello Victoire!" came a cheery voice from beside her, causing Victoire to shriek and clutch a hand to her heart. "Don't worry, your baby will be much cuter!"

"ROSE!" exclaimed Victoire nervously. "Wh-what are you talking about!?"

"Victoire, you can't fool me. I'm the girl cousin closest in age ot you, I'm the most intuitive and observant and intelligent combination of all the cousins," said Rose.

"And the most modest too," muttered Victoire under her breath as Rose prattled on.

"And I saw," she paused for dramatic effect, while Victoire looked at her nervously. "I saw how you scrutinized the reaction of everyone to Elaine and James' news. I was watching you watch them from your hiding place in the corner. I know."

"You know what?" asked Victoire, deciding to feign ignorance.

"That you're pregnant- P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T- Pre.." Victoire's pale slender hand clasped over Rose's mouth, efficiently shutting her up. The last thing Victoire needed was Rose opening her big Weasley mouth and telling everyone. She had practically been shouting it for all of Hogsmeade to hear.

"Come on," she mumbled angrily, pulling Rose into an out of the way tea shop that happened to be next door to the baby clothing store she had just been standing in front of. The bell rang merrily as the two girls entered the shop, the older one dragging the redhead to a booth in the back.

"I'm such a good guesser," smirked Rose as Victoire finished scanning the shop for anyone they knew. "I knew you were.." Victoire shot a silencing spell under the table, breaking off Rose's voice as the waitress approached the two.

"What'll it be?" she asked them, chomping on some droobles gum, the sugary sweet smell of which was making Victoire want to throw up.

"Two teas, one with extra cream and two spoonfuls of sugar, the second with eight spoonfuls, no make that nine, could you bring me some sugar with the second one? And we'll have, err… a sampler of your deserts then," said Victoire, squinting to read the menu across the room. And she had thought she had a sweet tooth before she was pregnant.

"Okay, coming right up," said the waitress, rudely smacking her gum as she walked away. Victoire looked at Rose who looked tiffed at the silencing spell. Removing it, she cast a charm so that others couldn't listen in on the conversation.

"What if I wanted coffee!?" demanded Rose.

"I remembered how you like your tea, you should be happy, besides, I ordered dessert!" protested Victoire.

"Hmph!" said Rose, crossing her arms. "Now, back to the previous conversation." Victoire winced. "So you're really pregnant?" Victoire nodded mournfully, turning red and looking at her cousin, expecting the worst. "Well there's nothing I can yell at you for now!" she said seeing the look that Victoire was giving her. "What does everyone else have to say about you being preggers?" asked Rose a bit loudly. Despite the charm, Victoire shot a nervous glance at the group that had just sat down a few tables over.

"SHH! Rose, I haven't told anyone yet! You had better not say anything or Merlin help me, I will tell everyone, particularly Ronald Weasley, exactly who you've had a crush on since first year! And when I say everyone, I'm not excluding your best friends!"

"VICTOIRE! That is LOW! And not first year, it was only second year. Honestly, I would never spoil the fun and tell everyone anyways. _You_ should have to suffer through that ordeal. In fact, I plan on being at Hogwarts on whichever day you choose to tell William Weasley that he is in fact becoming an grandfather. Do remember to send me an owl with the date which you are going to share your big news with the family," said Rose sarcastically.

"Oh Merlin," moaned Victoire as their tea and desserts arrived on the table by magic. "When you put it that way it's a million times more scary. I shouldn't have let Elaine talk me out of running away to Australia, there still is time right?"

"Okay," said Rose, her face becoming more sympathetic. "So it won't be that bad. They won't be that angry, and they love you, you're Victoire! The oldest and favorite granddaughter, the one born on the anniversary of winning the war! The one who's beautiful and veela and blond, the one that can wrap everyone around her fingers, the princess of the family! They love you," said Rose reassuringly.

"They won't love me anymore once they find out my secret that can't be kept secret much longer cause I'm going to get as fat as Slughorn!" Victoire ranted between the mouthful of tart she was eating. She mournfully took another bite, and Rose couldn't help but hide her laugh with a cough. If she ate like that she _would_ be as fat as Sluggy. She had eaten nearly the entire tray of desserts. By herself.

"Yes, they will, you're family, and blood is thicker than water. Especially Weasley Blood. It's like frickin Maple Syrup!"

"Do you really think you're right?" asked an uncharacteristically unsure Victoire. Rose felt so bad. She had never seen her perfect older cousin like this. Victoire was someone she looked up to, someone who was perfect and idolized in the eyes of all of her younger relatives.

"I _know_ I'm right. I'm Rose," she said cockily, trying to reassure her cousin and make her laugh at the same time. Victoire at least cracked a smile. Too bad her teeth were full of brownie.

Rose and Victoire didn't discuss the pregnancy further. Rose didn't want to pry, and figured that Aunt Fleur should be the first to receive the details. She would find them out later. Instead, she avoided the subject and asked about Healer Training, something that she was planning on doing when she got out of school. They chatted for about an hour, Victoire eating nearly all of the sweets and then some. At the end of the hour, Rose admitted that she was late meeting Scorp and Al in Three Broomsticks, and that she had better get going.

"Victoire, I still look up to you. You are so strong to be going through with this, and I think you're just amazing. The worst thing I've had to go through is OWLs. Okay, and maybe telling my dad I was best friends with a Malfoy. But, besides that, I just want to tell you how much I still admire you, and that everything will be fine. Owl me whenever, wherever! I love you," she said, hugging Victoire tightly. Victoire couldn't help but let a few tears out at the sentimental declaration.

"Love you too Rosie," she said gently. "You're the first person in the family to know, and it means, so much." The two girls smiled at each other before Rose headed off after one more hug. Paying the bill, Victoire walked back out into the snowy Hogsmeade street. Maybe this had been a good place to think and clear her head after all.

**First off, thanks again for all the reviews, and please please please review this chapter I worked so hard on it, and this is the major chapter that has been coming for a long time. I'm sure that all of you realize the main plot of the story now, and realize the major twists and all. Anyways, please review, I feel like you should have a lot to say... Oh, and one more thing, when counting how many months a person is pregnant, it isn't from the date concieved, its from the last time they had their period... i have been looking up stuff online about it and so when she and Elaine are 9 weeks, it's 7 since conception... sorry if that was TMI but for those who are thinking the dates don't match up, well they do... i covered my butt! Even symptoms match with the week that she started having them... lol REVIEW!!!**

**Ellie**


	16. The Veela Wedding

_A picture-perfect wedding  
isn't caught on film,  
it's captured in the heart.__Saturday, February twenty-third__  
at __12:30 in the afternoon  
The Delacour Residence  
Guila, France  
_

Please join us,  
Patrice Apolline and Sebastien Philippe  
as we celebrate  
with heartfelt joy  
our wedding day

Victoire paused stepping out of the fireplace, waiting for the dizziness and nausea to subside. She had never particularly enjoyed the sensation of flooing, preferring to apparate or take a portkey. However, flooing all the way from England to France was the absolute worst. Now, to top it off, she was pretty sure that her 'condition' enhanced the negative side effects of traveling by floo.

It had barely been seconds when Louis arrived in the fireplace behind her. "Ooph!" she exclaimed as he crashed into her, propelling her forward.

"Move your fat arse, Toire!" he demanded angrily in his recently changing voice. Victoire sent him the darkest veela glare she could manage, smiling internally as Louis took a step back. Obviously, she has her mum's glare down pat. Really, Louis should be more cheerful considering he had been pulled out of Hogwarts for a few days to attend the wedding. But no, he was a freak and was upset about being pulled out. But then again, there _was_ a quidditch match that weekend. Honestly, Victoire sincerely hoped her child did not inherit the Weasley gene that caused quidditch mania and obsession if it was a boy. Actually, she rather hoped the child wouldn't be quidditch obsessed if it was a girl either.

She rolled her eyes at Louis, he was such a stupid little third year. Thought he was all cool because he could go to Hogsmeade, and was taking ancient runes and arithmancy. Stupid git.

Before she realized it, she was being dragged by her family out of the international floo port terminal and into a smaller area where there were many fireplaces that took people to their local destinations. Urg, now she had to floo to Aunt Gabriella's house. At least Aunt Gabriella would be there. She might just be Victoire's favorite aunt. Then again, that might have something to do with the fact that she was the Aunt that Victoire saw the least and who wasn't always nosing into her business. She really was rather fond of Aunts Ginny and Hermione too.

Cousin Trice was two years younger than Victoire, seventeen, but in France, getting married young was more acceptable, and Bauxbatons had dorms for married students even. Trice's fiancé was a graduate of the school already, so they would not be living together for their first year and a half of marriage, but apparently, that didn't bother Trice.

Trice's bright shining veela face was there to greet Victoire as she stepped out of the fireplace. Victoire felt herself be passed around from person to person in her French side of the family, getting kisses and hugs all around. Finally, she was permitted to go upstairs to the room she would share with Dominique.

"Ahhh," she sighed happily, letting herself fall back onto the comfy bed and sink into its warm softness. "I'm sooo tired… naptime!"

"What are you talking about Toire!?" exclaimed Dominique, performing an unpacking charm on their bags. Clothes flew into the closet and cosmetics flew onto the vanity tables. Victoire shot a quick concealing charm on a few of the items that came out of her bag, the large case of prenatal potions she was taking for one. Maybe she should tell Nikki tonight, after her nap of course. "We have the rehearsal dinner in twenty minutes. We need to be down in the ballroom where Trice is getting married and go through tomorrow's ceremony, then we have dinner too!"

"I've been in enough weddings in the past six months. I'm pretty sure I know what to do!" protested Victoire. "I'll just sleep."

"NO! YOU HAVE TO!" exclaimed Dominique. "Honestly, this is my first wedding I've been in. The practice part is vital."

"Not really," said Victoire. She had had a long day, pregnant women needed their sleep, they had a baby sucking out their life and draining their energy. Oh, wait, Dominique still didn't know, she really had to tell her sister. Tonight. Dominique gave her a look. "FINE!" she spat, getting out of the comfy bed. Just her luck, stupid dress rehearsals.

By the time that Victoire and Dominique got downstairs, everyone else was waiting. Victoire had thrown on a nondescript dress that she hoped no one would really notice her in, while Dominique had spent a good half hour fixing her hair, make-up, and picking the perfect dress to show off her figure. Victoire had rolled her eyes, and decided she could take a short nap after seeing the beautification process start. Twenty five minutes of sleep had mussed her hair a bit, but she felt a little refreshed.

"Victoire! And little Nikki, everyone, these are my famous English cousins! Aren't they gorgeous? And this is the rest of my bridal party. Antlia is my best friend from school, she graduated your year," said Trice gesturing to a very pretty dark haired girl beside her. "This is Aurelia, Cecilia, Julia, and Magnolia," she said pointing to the rest of the bridal party around the room. The first thing Victoire noticed was that all of them were dark haired except her, Dominique, and Patrice. She wondered if this was to make Patrice's blond hair stand out more. Never-the-less, Patrice would stand out. However, all of these girls were so pretty, they all had to be at least part Veela.

"Wonderful to meet all of you," she said quietly as Dominique, ever the social butterfly, started up a lively conversation. She on the other hand, preferred to sit quietly in a corner until the practice wedding started.

Of course the practice wedding was ridiculously boring, and tedious, and stupid, but Victoire managed to survive. Her only consolation was the fact that there was a wonderful dinner planned. She just hoped that they were serving lamb chops, or perhaps pork chops. That sounded good to her.

Reaching the table she was ready to eat. However, the first course was, of course, a salad, Caesar Salad to be precise. And the dressing had raw eggs in it, and therefore, she couldn't eat it. Instead, she discreetly set aside her dish and nibbled on a few croutons and carrots. The next dish was shrimp and oysters, which she remembered from reading her pregnancy books and from being a healer were bad for babies. Raw seafood was not good, neither were most types of fish due to the high amount of toxins found in them, Mercury and the like. Inevitably, the third course was fish, swordfish steaks, and she couldn't eat that. She dipped her fork in the sauce and ate the potatoes that came with it. Frowning, she had sipped at her water and wished that she could eat something… soon. However, that was not to be as the next dish was liver and onions. Liver had high amounts of toxins too, and Vitamin A which wasn't good in large amounts. She grudgingly picked at the onions and other vegetables on the plate and hoped at least dessert was something delicious, preferably something with chocolate. That wish was indeed granted in the form of Chocolate Mousse. Unfortunately that also contained raw eggs, and she excused herself before it any even reached her seat. Bloody meal, entirely unacceptable for pregnant women, now she would have to go make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or something in the kitchen. Rolling her eyes, she didn't notice the funny look from her mother. Then again, it wasn't every day that she turned down one of her favorite French desserts.

She was upstairs in bed reading a disguised version of "What to Expect When You're Expecting" that she had charmed to look like "101 Healer Spells to Combat Muggle Illnesses" while munching on one of the three sandwiches she had made herself when Dom arrived.

"Why are you eating that when you could have eaten the delicious fish and liver and mousse?" she said looking at the sandwiches with disgust.

"Mmmm… you know, just didn't look good," lied Victoire. Dinner had looked delicious.

"You are weird. Mamam thinks you're crazy, and I agree. What's up with you Victoire?" said Dominique letting down her hair and changing into her pajamas.

"Well," said Victoire, wondering if now was the perfect time to tell her sister or what. She wasn't going to get another chance like this. However, the words couldn't leave the tip of her tongue.

"Honestly, you left before that boy Antonio from Bauxbatons started talking to me. He is so handsome, and he's a seventh year like me. He was the groom's cousin, and goodness, he already asked me for the first dance tomorrow. I'm going to have to make sure I look particularly nice tomorrow. Can I wear those earrings that Grandmama Delacour gave you for Christmas two years ago? They will make my neck look so alluring. And speaking of earrings, did you see the hideous ones that Trice's bridesmaid was wearing. They were worst than Aunti Luna's radishes. Speaking of the Scamanders, Lorcan is getting on my nerves so much lately. He thinks since he's a prefect and I'm a prefect, that that means we are friends. Merlin forbid something of that nature should ever happen. He's just trying to compensate for being the loser twin. Lysander is headboy, and I just know that it has to be driving Lorcan crazy that his brother beat him at something.

"Isn't Lorcan the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team?" asked Victoire with a sigh. She had missed her chance, and now her sister would be ranting about Lorcan the Loser Scamander for the next hour. Victoire would laugh in a few years when Dominique finally realized that she was in love with the boy. That would be the day.

"And what's worse, is that Lysander, that stupid cunning slytherin brother of his is intent on scheduling patrolling duties so that he can patrol with that Ravenclaw slut Brooke, and then Rachel the head girl always wants to patrol with MY patrol partner Henry, so then _I _get stuck with LORCAN! And he is so obnoxious!!"

"Well, of course," said Victoire. "That must be horrible."

"Yes, why can't I get to patrol with the love of my life. Honestly, you have all the luck, patrolling with Teddy last year."

"Shut up," groaned Victoire. Dominique obviously realized she had hit a sore spot and took the opportunity to take the piss out of her sister.

"What? You guys had a disagreement on when the wedding is going to be?" she taunted. "Miss Teddy Weddy while he's in Egypt? Is the floo-sex not very satisfying?"

"SHUT UP DOM!" Victoire practically shouted, using the nickname that Dominique hated, mostly due to the fact that Lorcan Scamander had made it up and used it to make her mad on a regular basis.

"Fine," said Dominique, not used to seeing her sister get angry. "Let's talk about something else, how about ,err… oh, that goofy hat Aunt Gabriella was wearing at dinner. She looked positively ridiculous."

"You know what, it's almost ten thirty and I'm exhausted. How about we just go to bed, Nikki?" said Victoire.

"You're no fun anymore, what's wrong with you Toire?" muttered Dominique darkly, rolling over in her bed. She didn't understand why her sister was so weird lately, not answering her letters, barely showing up for family dinners, breaking it off with her oh-so-perfect-boyfriend. Dominique secretly hoped that whatever she was hiding from the family had to do with Teddy Lupin, prefereably something involving something where she was secretly dating the metamorphmagus. That would be exciting!

"If only you knew," Victoire sighed under her breath. She was, however, happy to be able to sleep finally.

* * *

The next morning was a frenzy as the seven bridesmaids got dressed and ready under the supervision of several hairdressers, a seamstress, three make-up artists, Aunt Gabriella and Victoire's mum . Victoire was finally all done up with her hair in beautiful curls, and her make-up done to perfection. She was just helping Dominique into her dress with a half an hour to go before the wedding when her mother and aunt returned from checking up on the food being prepared for the reception. Aunt Gabriella was wearing a long gold dress while her mum was dressed elegantly in a dark blue one covered in sparkles. Both of them looked as if they were no older than thirty and definitely not old enough to be the bride's mother and her older sister.

"Here," said Dominique turning around as Victoire finished zipping her up. "Let's get your dress and put you in it, because Cousin Trice will need us to help her next. Hurry up!" Victoire rushed across the room and handed the dress to her sister rapidly. Slipping out of the zip up sweatshirt and the sweatpants she had worn to get ready, she stepped into the dress as she tried to eavesdrop on the conversation between her aunt and her mum. Apparently there was a major problem with the food for the wedding, and she wanted to hear what was on the wedding menu, and if she should just skip out on the reception to feed herself.

"Toire?" came Dominique's voice, startling her out of her stupor.

"What?" she asked a bit loudly in her agitation.

"Did you try this on?" asked Dominique. "I mean, it won't zip!" Victoire felt her trying to zip it, but could tell it wasn't working. "Come on!" mumbled Dominique, still trying to zip the dress.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" came Trice's panicked voice. Suddenly Victoire was in her hands as she too tried to zip the dress. "IT FIT LESS THAN A MONTH AGO WHEN WE FITTED YOU!" she exclaimed near tears.

"What's wrong?" asked Fleur coming over to the three blond girls as Victoire began silently panicking.

"Erm, nothing," said Victoire sucking in as much as she could as they attempted to zip her again.

"HER DRESS WON'T FIT!" exclaimed Dominique. Victoire winced as she felt her sister pushing and pulling her around in an attempt to fasten the dress.

"Here, let me see," said Aunt Gabriella. "I'm sure this fit last month, it's only been a month, and I'm sure the measurements were right then! Have you put on weight since then?"

"Yeah, you look like you might have put some on," commented Dominique none too nicely.

"Erm, yeah, you know with the HARE stress, I may have eaten a bit too much comfort food. Love those chocolate frogs," Victoire fake laughed. "I think maybe I've put on a couple pounds then."

"Victoire," said Fleur quietly. "You're a veela, you don't put on weight."

"Well, the dress must have been cut funny or something," protested Victoire.

"Victoire," said Fluer, tears which had been forming in her eyes starting to drip from the corners. "Are you pregnant?" She had tears running down her face, but even that was beautiful. Victoire stood stunned, while the rest of the bridesmaids and Trice and Aunt Gabriella and especially Dominique stared in silence.

Suddenly, as if the seamstress knew what was going on, she rushed over and began muttering spells, laughing about how it was her job and they should have gotten her to begin with. Victoire didn't even register when she had been zipped into the tight dress. She simply stared at her mother who had tears streaming down her face. "ARE YOU PREGNANT?" demanded Fleur getting impatient. Victoire looked down, staring at the ugly green carpet. Apparently this was an admission of what Fleur had feared and she burst out into hysterical tears, pulling her daughter in a huge hug, rubbing Victoire's back as she sobbed. "I'm too young and beautiful to be a grandmother!" she cried. "You aren't ready for zis!"

"Mum," said Victoire calmly. "We'll talk about this later. Today is Trice's day, and it's her wedding. Now, no more tears, put on a pretty veela face, and make it through the wedding. This day isn't about me, and I need to make it perfect for my cousin, while you make it perfect for your niece. No more tears, come on mother, please, we'll talk about this later."

"Fine," said Fleur wiping away the tears. "But eef you zink zis ees over you 'ave anozer zink coming! We vill talk about zis after ze wedding, don't zink you are escaping or getting out of zis. Don't even plan on going to ze reception."

"Of course mum, I understand you'll want to talk, you're upset," said Victoire, wincing as her mum's accent became more pronounced. Fleur nodded and Victoire turned to her cousin who looked shocked.

"Trice, you wedding starts in twenty minutes!" she said, snapping her cousin out of it. "Come on, let's get you in this dress, it's so pretty!" Luckily, she had had plenty of practice getting brides into their big white dresses, because her hands were shaking. She was pretty sure her mum had kept her veela temper under control only for the benefit of the rest of the wedding party. She hated getting a beak in front of people.

Victoire who had never loved studying French couldn't really pay attention during the ceremony as that would have required too much concentration. Instead, she merely stood there and looked pretty. She was much to wrapped up in her thoughts and worries to enjoy the fact that she looked beautiful in the dress and colors that had been chosen for her. This was her favorite wedding attire so far, even more so than the dress she had worn at Elaine's. But, there was no need to relish it as the one person she would have wanted to see her in it was not present.

As soon as pictures were over, Victoire felt herself being dragged, none too gently, from the room. "Mum!" she exclaimed as the long veela claws dug into her skin. However, Fleur was not stopping. Victoire heard footsteps behind them and saw Dominique rushing after them in her loud high heels. "GO AWAY DOM!"

"No, I want to hear everything!"

"You're so nosey! Go back to the reception and enjoy yourself!"

"NO! I WANT TO COME TOO!"

"Don't you want to dance with that boy, Aiden, or Anthony, or whatever his stupid name was!?"

"ANTONIO! And no, this looks like it will be far more interesting!"

"URG!!! GO AWAY YOU AREN'T WELCOME! IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

"Too bad, I'm coming! I wouldn't miss this kind of excitement for the return of Voldemort!" Victoire sighed, obviously having lost. Dominique was such a nosey gossip who loved to relish in the suffering of others. She always knew everything about everyone and loved knowing she knew. She was so bloody annoying.

They finally reached their destination of the kitchen, Fleur roughly pulling Victoire into the empty room while Dominique followed at a safe distance. Upon reaching the room, Fleur pulled out a chair and crossed her arms. Victoire sat obediently as her mother stared her down from above. Dominique happily hoisted herself up onto the countertop and began watching the drama with avid attention. Victoire looked between her two family members hopelessly. There was a few moments of strained silence before Fleur spoke up.

"So," she said harshly. "Is it true? IS EET TRUE!?"

"Yes."

Fleur started crying in earnest, fat tears pouring down her face."I'm not ready to be a Granny just yet!" she wailed as Victoire looked on helplessly and Dominique looked shocked.

"Mum, at this point, I don't think it matters if you're ready or not, because it's happening," said Victoire, causing Dominique to let out a short barking laugh from the corner and Victoire to shoot her a glare.

"But you're not ready to be a mozer! Vhat about your Healer Training!? Vhat about your future!? 'ow could you be so irresponsible!? 'ow dare you make me a grandmozer before my time! 'ow embarrassing! You 'ad so much potential! You're a smart girl! I'm so disappointed! VHAT ABOUT YOUR FUTURE?" ranted Fleur, half sobbing, half screaming, half devastated, half enraged. That was two hundred percent.

"Mum, I'll work it out, but this is my future now. I've been getting used to the idea, and I think I can do it. I'll take my Residence Tests right around when the baby is born, and then I'll take my maternity leave. Then, I guess I'll take the baby to a muggle daycare or something during the day while I'm working. I'm a healer, and I make a decent amount of money, and my health insurance is great due to being a healer. Eventually, I'm sure my little witch or wizard will end up at Hogwarts, and I can probably send it to muggle public school until then. And that's my future. Maybe I'll even buy a little house in the country somewhere between then and now. Instead of raising it in a flat. But mum, I'm getting used to the idea," said Victoire, noticing that Dominique had produced some popcorn and a coke from somewhere and was slurping through the straw loudly. She gave her another look.

"What? Everything's better with an ice cold coke!" she protested with a shrug of her shoulders.

"'ow far along are you?" asked Fleur finally after digesting that Victoire was indeed having a baby and seemed to have some sort of plan.

"About three months. I was going to wait until after my next doctor's appointment this week to tell you guys. I've been thinking that at that point it will be more real," said Victoire, ashamed to have kept such a huge secret from her family as Dominique snorted Coke through her nose in shock. Victoire smirked as her sister frantically pulled out her wand to clean up the mess, served her right.

"Well, you look about four," said Fleur in surprise. Another strangled sound came from Dominique. This was obviously far more entertaining than she had anticipated.

"I AM NOT FAT YET! Thank-you-very-much!" shrieked Victoire, her hands going to her slightly rounded stomach.

"You didn't mention the father," her mother said suddenly.

"He's… not in the picture," mumbled Victoire, too embarrassed to tell her mother the entire truth.

"Not one of those loser boyfriends you brought home?" asked Fleur with a thoughtful look, as if trying to calculate who Victoire had been dating when. "Not that one that chea.."

"No, mum, you don't know him, and I'd rather not talk about it," she said sharply. Fleur obviously realizing that the subject wasn't open for discussion and snapped her mouth shut.

"I'm so disappointed, but there's really nothing I can tell you now. What's done is done," said Fleur, obviously calming down as her clawed hands disappeared. "I guess you're going to need some type of motherly support. I'll come with you to your doctor's appointment." Victoire's eyes widened in surprise. Her mother was accepting it. She obviously wasn't happy about it, and severely disappointed, but she was accepting her. It wasn't the hugs and happiness that Elaine and James had received, but it was a start. She felt moisture gathering in her eyes. Stupid hormones. She was so emotional, crying over the simple acceptance of her mother. Suddenly her mother was hugging her, she still loved her, now crying in earnest, Victoire felt tears falling rapidly.

"AWWWWW," said Dominique, ruining the moment. Victoire and Fleur both turned and simultaneously glared. "Okay, that's creepy. Your baby isn't even born yet and you have the mum glare down pat. You're a natural!" she laughed. Victoire intensified her glare and Dominique seemed to back down. "Do you want me to hug you too? Cause fyi, I still love you Toire, even if you are knocked up."

"Thanks Nikki, but, erm, could we hold off on telling dad?" asked Victoire, suddenly realizing that since her mum and Dominique knew, it was only a matter of time. And somehow, he didn't see her dad reacting the same way. In fact, she pictured it somewhat more violent.

"We can tell him after your appointment. You can come to dinner that night, then the family can find out on Sunday dinner at Grandma Molly's," said Fleur rationally. Victoire winced. So soon? She had been thinking it would be best to wait until the last possible minute, like when she was in the hospital and giving brith.

"Do I have to tell him?" asked Victoire hopefully. She was honestly terrified of telling her father, and if her mum could do it, that would be amazing. "I mean, maybe we could just wait until after the baby is born."

"Oh yeah, here's your grandchild! You can't be mad now, look how cute it is!" said Dominique sarcastically, pretending to hand off a baby.

"Your father may not be ze most observant man in ze world, but I'm zure he vould notice you were 'iding a baby under your shirt!" exclaimed Fleur. "In any case, I need to go to the reception, I vill tell Aunt Gabriella, she vill not be angry, she had Patrice young and unmarried."

"WHAT!" exclaimed Victoire and Dominique together.

"She got married when Patrice was two months old, she didn't vant to be fat," said Fleur as she walked out of the kitchen. Dominique and Victoire looked at each other.

"I don't think I can tell dad," said Victoire as her sister came over and hugged her. After all, she had just been informed too.

"Well then maybe get Mum to tell him," says Dominique practically as she hugged her. "Though that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of your readiness to be a mother, what with you still being scared of your own dad."

"Nikki, do you think that everyone is going to be really mad?" asked Victoire nervously as her sister handed her a tea, they were in for a long talk.

"They'll get used to it," said Dominique. "I'll be the best Aunti ever!"

"Thanks Nikki, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"Were you trying to tell me last night?" she asked and Victoire nodded, taking a sip of tea and wincing, not enough sugar. "That's okay, but can I rub your tummy?" Victoire smirked, the first tummy rub. She nodded.

"Am I going to have to get used to this?" asked Victoire, flinching at Nikki's cold hands on her stomach.

"Of course! Now tell me everything! When are you due? Is it a boy or a girl? When did you find out?"

* * *

A few days later, Dominique, despite many protests, was back at school, and Victoire was headed to St. Mungo's with her mum. Bill was under the impression that the two women were going to Diagon Alley to shop for the day.

"Maternity, tenth floor!" exclaimed Victoire annoyed. Heading to the lift, she looked at the shining metal doors in shock. _Out of Order, Please Use Stairs!_ The lifts ALWAYS worked. She NEVER took the stairs. Groaning she looked to the door. Opening the door and stepping into the stairwell, she looked up and couldn't even see the ceiling.

She never really paid attention when she was at work, but right now, the tenth floor seemed a million miles away. After getting up early so she could be on time for her shift to start at nine after her appointment, she was tired. And it would be so much easier if she could just apparate in the hospital, or even floo between floors. Ten floors, at least she would be getting her workout.

By the time that she and her mum had reached the tenth floor, they were both out of breath. "You would think that they would let the pregnant people stay on the ground floor!" panted Victoire clutching her side.

"I think this hospital was designed by a man," replied Fleur tiredly. "Bloody men."

Reaching the desk, they checked in for their appointment with Victoire's Healer, Healer Gardener. "Victoire Weasley for seven thirty with Healer Gardener please," said Victoire to the nurse. Fleur was looking at her fake nails in a bored fashion.

"I'm sorry, but Healer Gardener isn't here today, family emergency. I hope it's okay if you see Healer Coats instead? He's seeing all of her patients." Victoire looked at the woman dumbfounded. NO it was NOT okay. Healer Coats was the biggest schmuck in the hospital. She couldn't stand him! He was entirely rude to his patients and the rest of the staff, a horrible medical doctor, had the worst bedside manner, and he had been known to pay more attention to a wireless broadcast of a Quidditch game than what was going on in the delivery room. She would refuse to see him. They didn't have the best history, and she didn't want him near her or her baby.

"I'm sorry, but no, that is not okay. In case you don't recognize me, I'm Healer Weasley, and if I recall, he nearly killed my cousin Anthony and my Aunt Alicia last September. I'd really rather I never have to see his face again! Isn't he on the review board for probationary violations? How is he still seeing patients?" demanded Victoire violently, startling both her mother and the nurse. "When can I get another appointment with Healer Gardener?"

"Um, she's booked until your next appointment is due, you can't possibly see her until then, and you need to get your three month appointment in."

"I'll see anyone, anyone but him!" exclaimed Victoire frantically. "I'll see Healer Lee, and everyone knows he's positively ancient!"

"I'm sorry but everyone else is booked, you aren't the only one who doesn't want to see Healer Gardener."

"What can I do then!" demanded Victoire. "Of course no one wants to see him, he's a bastard!"

"Well, the only thing left to do is to see him. It's just this once Healer Weasley. Healer Gardener will be your permanent doctor still, the one taking care of your delivery and such."

"FINE!" exclaimed Victoire angrily before marching over to the waiting area and plopping herself down. Fleur followed at a safe distance, trying to avoid her daughter's temper, but she was obviously upset.

Fleur of course knew the story of how Victoire had asked to be present as the intern on her Aunt's delivery of Anthony, and how if it had not been for her quick casting of a blood clotting charm, Alicia would have died, and the baby too had she not severed the umbilical cord herself. The main healer had spaced out listening to a quidditch match and had stopped paying attention, leaving Victoire to save the patients herself. Victoire had been entirely unforgiving, especially because of the patients being her family. She had reported him to the board despite the fact he was one of the more powerful doctors in the hospital. This had lead others to come forward, inspired by her courage. The complaints had built, and he had nearly been fired, placed on probation.

Minutes later, Victoire's name was being called, and she was headed to an examination room. The nurse checked her vitials and took her weight, and all of the little things before leaving Fleur and Victoire in the room together.

"Honestly, one rude comment, one stupid joke, he could set me off, that bastard!" she exclaimed angrily.

"At least you'll get to see an image of the baby," said Fleur. "And find out the sex."

"Yippy Skippy Do!" replied Victoire sarcastically as the door opened to reveal the object of Victoire's anger. She glared at him, her meanest Veela glare. It had been getting quite a bit of practice lately.

"Well hello, Miss Weasley. It's Miss, correct? Unmarried still?" Victoire was practically growling.

"I actually prefer Healer Weasley. I have earned the title now, having passed my HAREs with the highest numeric score in the country."

"Congratulations!" he said picking up her charts. "Hmm, I see another congratulations is in order, you've also gained one of the highest numeric weights I've ever seen in someone who was just three months pregnant. Usually there is zero to little weight gain in the first trimester, but you've managed fifteen pounds! Congratulations!" Now, even Fleur was glaring.

"My daughter was very tiny when she became pregnant, she had no fat at all!" said Fleur. "It is normal to gain a little weight."

"You call this a little weight?" asked Healer Coats lightly patting Victoire's slightly protruding stomach. "We'll see what's up, perhaps I should put you on a little pregnancy diet. Being pregnant is not an excuse to become obese. I mean, think of your grandmother! Would you like to look like that?"

"I vould 'ardly call Molly Veasley obese!" exclaimed Fleur as Victoire snorted indignantly. "Besides, she 'as 'ad seven children!"

"Yes, about six too many," laughed Healer Coats. "Honestly, they were so poor, I remember seeing their oldest wearing the rattiest robes, and then next year his little brother was wearing them. His weren't even hand me downs!"

"Are you talking about Bill?" asked Fleur.

"Yeah, that was his name, he was in Gryffindor, I was a slytherin. Beat me out for headboy, but we were both prefects together. He was a laugh!"

"That's my husband," said Fleur tightly, pronouncing each word with care.

"Oh, er, how is he?"

"Like you care, get on with the appointment. We've established I'm fat, proceed!" exclaimed Victoire nervously, seeing her mother's nails turning into claws. She just wanted to get this ordeal over with!

"Okay, let's put you up here, and pull your shirt up so I can get an image of the baby up on this screen. We actually stole this technology from muggles, except we've much improved it," said Healer Coats as Victoire lifted herself onto the examination table and lifted up her shirt to her chest. "Ha, see this little bubble, this is quite unusual. You have gained FAR too much weight."

"No wonder my dress didn't fit," mumbled Victoire sarcastically. She didn't even eat a lot, her body was just packing on the pounds naturally.

"So here's your image," said the healer directing their eyes to the screen. They all peered at it for a few moments. "Oh."

"Oh what!" demanded Victoire. That didn't sound like a good 'oh'.

"Healer Weasley, it seems there has been a mistake. You are not pregnant with a child," he said looking closely at the screen.

"CAUSE THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!" exclaimed Victoire, panicked. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT A CHILD? WHAT COULD IT BE? A PUPPY?!" Fleur was looking at the screen with a shocked face, as if trying to image having a grandchild that was not the perfect beautiful pink baby with ten fingers and ten toes and most likely blue eyes and blond veela hair.

"You're pregnant with two of them, twins," laughed the healer. Victoire renewed her glare. That was NOT funny. She however looked up in shock a moment later to see her mother laughing too.

"MUM! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" she shrieked. "STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!"

"HAHA! NOT ZAT!" exclaimed Fleur, also shooting him a glare for the slight scare. "And I thought that one 'urt! TWO!" she cackled. Victoire's eyes widened. She had tried not to think about the pain as it was so far away, but now it was bloody doubled. How had grandma Weasley done it!? Uncle George was a twin, and then she had five other single births too! Twins!? Twins!? Was he serious?! That explained her unusual amount of weight gain. Bloody hell, twins. She wasn't ready for one child, let alone two. She had been afraid before, now she was terrified.

Suddenly, Victoire's panic attack was interrupted as something was shoved inter her hands. Bewildered, she looked at Healer Coats.

"All done. For twins, everything looks good. You actually gained a very healthy amount of weight considering you are carrying two children. And I've moved your due date to August 1st. Twins are not carried nearly as long, and while for optimal health, we would want you to carry them as long as is healthy for you, we should anticipate a much earlier delivery date. Here are some pamphlets on pregnancies with multiples, and you'll need to read up on all of them. You as a healer should know many of these things. Oh, and here are some pictures of your children." He handed her a black and white photograph that seemed odd to Victoire since it wasn't moving. Muggle-looking thing.

"That's your daughter, and your son, they are fraternal twins," he said.

Victoire looked at the picture thoughtfully. There were two white grey splotches surrounded by blackness. The splotches she assumed were her babies, and maybe they just didn't like each other already as they were as far apart from each other as possible. They were both very small, and it was hard to see any arms, legs, or facial features unless one looked very hard and turned their head sideways and sorta squinted their eyes. After several minutes, she had come to a conclusion. Looking up, she saw her mum and Coats looking at her funny.

"They look like little nuts," she pronounced. "And let's face it mum, there are plenty of nuts in the family. Uncle George for one."

"Oh Victoire!" exclaimed Fleur exasperated. "You're looking at it from the wrong side, that's the backside where the ink bled through."

"What?" Victoire asked, turning the photograph over to see a highly detailed picture of the inside of her uterus. There they were, their tiny faces with their little developing hands, and yes, one definitely looked like a boy. The girl was a bit smaller, and while the picture was still too undefined to count individual fingers and toes, they both looked human enough and had the correct number of appendages, just tiny ones.

"How precious!" exclaimed Fleur happily as Healer Coats handed her another picture. "The girl is sucking her thumb!"

"Yes, how cute, now that everything's good, appointment's over," said Coats.

"Are you going to try and herd us out?" asked Victoire irritably as her mum smiled over all the pictures that had been taken.

"Erm, maybe, there's a game starting in ten minutes."

"Oh!" said Victoire, once again enraged. "Well, we wouldn't want to keep you from it! Come on mum, you can come with me to the tea room, we'll have breakfast before my shift starts."

"I just love this one! I'm going to make a copy," said Fleur pointing to a picture of the two babies where the little girl was sucking her thumb and the boy was holding out his hand, almost as if he was waving. They had eaten breakfast together in the tea room, and were just finishing up and relaxing before Victoire's shift started. Victoire had been reading the pamphlets about pregnancies with multiples, and they were quite scary. There were so many more risks involved, the weight gain was staggering, and the time on bed rest was pretty much doubled! Meanwhile, Fleur had been pouring over the pictures.

"Sure mum, just don't let dad see it."

"You need to tell him soon, Victoire," said Fleur with a frown.

"I will, but er, do you think you could maybe tell him?"

"NO!" exclaimed Fleur. "You are telling him. It's not my job! You will do it, tonight, at dinner."

"What!?" exclaimed Victoire as Fleur stood abruptly and began walking away. Gathering her things together, she threw them in her purse and began chasing her mother down. "What do you mean tonight at dinner?"

"You will be there tonight, six o'clock, for dinner, and you will tell your father," instructed Fleur. It was an imperative demand, there was no question, no possible protest, and there was an implied 'or else' that Fleur left unsaid but Victoire understood. Victoire watched her mother disappear down the hallway and let her shoulders sag. Tonight? She had to tell him tonight? She was not looking forward to the end of her workday. Bill Weasley was going to find out he was becoming a grandfather. Tonight. Shit.

**Please review. Okay, so what did you think? I thought Fleur took it rather well myself. Also, do you like the new summary? Anyways, tell me in a review since I won't update until I have idk... 180 at the least... i think. Idk yet, just review please. Next chapter Bill finds out, and it's written, so i can tell you that it's quite funny! Anyways, my trip to Oregon was good, except the traveling parts, lost luggage, running to catch a plane in 20 minutes, jamming 6 people into a car for 5. Too bad we couldn't just cast an expandible charm on the boot and throw someone in there. Anyways, hope you liked it and look for the next udate when I get a sufficient amount of reviews. By the way, I'm planning on putting up a new story about Bill and Fleur, just the first chapter for now. And if that story is going well, it will make me more cheerful and more likely to update all of my fics, so check it out when you see it up and review. Thanks for the wonderful reviews.**

**Elaine**


	17. Family Diners

**At some point in this chapter, you will be mad at me, but don't worry. Everything will work itself out. Just keep reading :)****. And Review ;) Thanks and Enjoy. **

Victoire stood on the front step of her childhood home, looking down at the weathered welcome mat while the salty sea air pulled at her hair. She had apparated and walked rather than flooing. Flooing was much quicker, and she was delaying this confrontation as long as possible. What was she going to say?

Sighing, she rung the bell, listening as solid footsteps approached the door, her father's footsteps. The white door opened, and she looked up into the blue eyes of her father. "Victoire! Sweetheart, come in!" he said happily hugging her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. He looked so young and happy, not anything like the angry grandfather he would be shortly. His long red hair did have a slight streaking of grey if you looked hard, and the scars running along his left cheekbone and over his left eye did age him a bit. But really, with the long hair and the fact that he still wore his fang earring, he looked rather hip and young.

Victoire stepped inside the house nervously, pulling off her cloak and hanging it in the hall closet. "Hey Vicky!" said a voice, causing her to jump.

"Louis!" she exclaimed, clutching a hand to her chest. Merlin she was tense over this whole breaking the news thing. "What are you doing here?"

"Mum had us pulled out of Hogwarts for the evening. Wanted everyone home for dinner, and Old Minnie gave the okay."

"Us, as in Nikki is here too?" asked Victoire hopefully. Maybe having her sister and her mum would make it easier.

"Yup, I'm here sis!" said Dominique coming out of the kitchen and engulfing her sister in a giant hug. "It'll be fine, just tell him," she whispered in her sister's ear. She could tell her sister was shaking. She needed to calm down.

"Come on! Dinner is served!" exclaimed Fleur from the kitchen. Victoire followed a jubilant Louis as Dominique squeezed her hand. Walking into the kitchen, Victoire could see that her mother had made her father's very favorite foods. Sitting down, she could tell her father had noticed too because he was already chowing down. Victoire on the other hand picked at the meal. She was so nervous as Dominique and Louis talked about school and quidditch and Fleur brought up how she was redoing the office.

"So, what's up with you, princess?" asked Bill using his nickname for her and looking at his eldest child who had been quiet the entire meal.

"Mmm, well, been very busy, and I've been redoing one of the rooms in my apartment," she said quietly. It wasn't a lie, she had been busy, and she was turning Elaine's old room into a nursery, a green and yellow colored one that the two babies could share and was gender neutral. But then again, she remembered someone once telling her that they didn't really think that yellow was gender neutral because what guy had a yellow bedroom.

Bill seemed satisfied with the answer as he was not particularly interested in interior decorating. Instead, he and Louis had talked about quidditch while Dominique ignored them. She hated quidditch after a quite unfortunate broom accident first year where she had broken twenty three bones and been in the hospital wing for about a week.

However, as Fleur began serving dessert, her father's favorite cake and some pasteries and tarts he liked too, she began sending Victoire pointed looks. Victoire pretended not to see them.

"So Bill," said Fleur offhandedly as they began enjoying their desserts, and it became obvious that Victoire was ignoring her. "Victoire has something she would like to tell you." Bill turned his attention to his oldest while Victoire sent a glare at her mother, replying through clenched teeth.

"Wouldn't you rather tell him mother?" she said tightly, begging almost.

"No, I really think you should tell him Victoire," said her mother using the commanding tone she used when she meant business. Victoire shot a panicked look at Dominique who shook her head as if to say 'no way in hell am I breaking news like that to dad!'

"Sss-So, um, err," stumbled Victoire nervously. "I'm pregnant," she blurted out, her eyes widening as she said it. Chocolate cake flew out of Bill Weasley's mouth as he turned a vivid shade of puce.

"WHAT!?" he roared after a good minute of silence.

"I'm pregnant," she said again, this time a little more quietly after having blurted it so bluntly the first time. Suddenly Louis was laughing hysterically while Bill turned a deeper shade of purple. After a moment Louis seemed to realize that Victoire was serious and stopped laughing while Bill remained silent. Unable to think of anything else to do, especially since her mom and Dominique were doing nothing, Victoire started to ramble. "It's twins, a boy and a girl, and I'm due August first, and the healers say that everything looks normal, and I'm going to start my maternity leave right after I take my residency exams, so I can take care of them."

"I FORBID IT!" shouted Bill, finally getting to his feet, his rage evident. "I ABSOLUTELY FORBID THIS!"

"William! It's over and done with, you can't go forbidding things," said Fleur, calming him a bit as Victoire winced. Sheepishly he realized his error and sat back down, looking at his cake.

Several tense moments passed, before once again Louis began laughing uncontrollably. Victoire really thought he was beginning to get on her nerves. "WHAT!? MAY I ASK, IS SO BLOODY FUNNY?" she demanded, scowling at him.

Still laughing, Louis answered between laughs, "You couldn't even take care of the pigmy puff that Dom and I got you for Christmas two years ago, and you think you can take care of a child, let alone two! AHAHAHAHA!"

"And the owl we gave you first year! That ran away when you couldn't be bothered to take care of it! This is my point exactly!"raged Bill. Victoire flushed, yes, she had accidentally killed both the owl and the pigmy puff. However, she might have lied and said the owl ran away.

"Vic may not be the best with animals, but have you ever seen her kill a plant?" asked Dominique, speaking up for her sister. "She's very nurturing, and she'll be a wonderful mother!"

"Yeah, if one of her babies is a tulip it may actually have a fighting chance," muttered Louis with a smirk. Victoire and Dominique chose to ignore him, while Bill obviously hadn't heard.

"SHE IS NOT READY TO BE A MOTHER!" he ranted, once again on his feet. "A BABY IS NOT SOME HERBOLOGY PROJECT!"

"WELL IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I'M READY OR NOT BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENING AND NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OR DO CAN POSSIBLY CHANGE THAT! ACCEPT IT ALREADY!" she shouted, standing up for the first time, her hands bracing herself on the table as she yelled across it. She felt her father's eyes lower to her stomach, and she stood up a little straighter.

"Fine. But I'm still not happy about it," he said finally sitting back down and picking up his fork with a forced calmness.

"Good," she said.

"So, have you thought about getting married?" he asked trying to sound off hand. Of course he was worried his grandchild would be born out of wedlock.

"Merlin's balls, no!" laughed Victoire, unable to control herself.

"And why bloody not!?" said Bill, before realization dawned on him. "WHOSE IS IT!?" he demanded, once again hopping mad.

"I'm reserving the right not to disclose the identity of the father at this time," said Victoire calmly as Bill clenched his fists and turned red again.

"I'LL BLOODY KILL HIM! THAT MAN IS A DEAD ONE! DEAD I TELL YOU!"

"Bill," said Fleur gently pushing him back into his seat. "Your daughter doesn't wish to talk about the father at this point, so we are going to respect her wishes. You can't do anything about this, and you need to accept it."

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT! SHE NEEDS TO TELL ME WHO IT IS! RIGHT NOW VICTOIRE! I NEED TO BREAK HIS BLOODY BONES!" exclaimed Bill, displaying the Weasley Temper. "BY VOLDEMORT I'LL CASTRATE THE LITTLE FUCKER!"

"DADDY!" shouted Victoire, now quite mad herself that he wasn't being calm about this. "I DON'T WANT TO TELL ANYONE WHO IT IS!"

"TELL ME RIGHT NOW, VICTOIRE GEORGETTE OR I'LL.... DISOWN YOU!" he cried slamming his fist on the table as Fleur tried to calm him.

"GO TO HELL!" screamed Victoire running out of the kitchen and toppling her chair as she went.

"SEE YOU THERE!" he snarled back as she made her way to her old bedroom and flung herself onto her childhood bed, slamming the door behind her. She was in no state to apparate or floo, too upset over everything. Her father, no _Bill_, was being a ass. She hated him, she hated him. But deny it as much as she wanted, he was her father, and she loved him, and she was his princess, just like Dominique was his little nymph. Louis was too stupid to have a cool nickname, but sometimes their mum called him Loui, or Lou. She cried into her pillow frustratedly. WHY?

After about an hour of crying, Victoire finally felt the tears starting to stop, but then, every time she thought that, she would start again. Suddenly, she heard the door creak open, and she pressed her face deeper into her pillow. She didn't want to talk to her mum right now. "Go away," she mumbled through her tears. However, her visitor didn't go away, instead sinking their weight down onto the bed beside her, and she felt a warm hand on her back, rubbing gently as her body continued to be wracked by huge sobs. "Go away!" she said a little more firmly after a few moments, but meaning it less as she felt herself being soothed. She could feel the reassuring hand on her back and another that was detangling her hair.

Within ten minutes, she was much better, no longer sobbing, and feeling thirsty from crying so much. Peeking her head out of the pillow, she was shocked. Sitting on the edge of her pink bedspread in his black slacks and white button up shirt was the last person she expected. Her father, looking quite remorseful, and entirely calm, was the one who had decided to approach her. "I'm sorry, Princess," he said quietly. "You know I love you, but it was a big shock, and I'm very sorry for the way I reacted. I'll respect your wishes about the father, and I want you to know that I still love you very much, and I'll continue to support you in every way, and that you're always welcome home, with your mother and I, and I'm, I'm just sorry, and I love you," he said, tears falling down his face as Victoire looked at him.

Once again she felt tears in her eyes. Sitting up she wrapped her arms around him tightly, her tears dampening his work shirt, but he didn't seem to care as he held her tightly too. "I love you too, da," she whispered, knowing that everything was going to be O.K. "I love you too."

Victoire stayed at the Shell Cottage that night, deciding to sleep in her old room. The next morning she was slightly disoriented when she woke up in her childhood bedroom, but she quietly padded downstairs, smelling her mother's delicious crepes and her father's strong coffee.

"Oh Victoire, you look 'orrible," said Fleur upon seeing her. Victoire shrugged, knowing she must look a fright with her hair mussed, still wearing the clothes she had worn from the night before, and her eyes probably still swollen from her tears the night before.

"Your Uncle Charlie is in town until early Saturday morning," said Bill, sipping his coffee as he read the paper. "I want you to tell the entire family before he leaves." Victoire's eyes widened in fear. Already?!

"But, er, do I have to? That's a lot of people to visit!" she said desperately searching for an excuse.

"Zat ees vhy your father arranged for zee family to 'ave dinner at Grandma Molly's on Friday eenstead of Sunday zis veek," said Fleur tiredly. She obviously hadn't gotten much sleep as her accent was stronger and her voice was tired. "I spent zee night owling everyone viz zee change."

"Great, so the entire adult family will be there to see my humiliated confession," said Victoire sarcastically while her mother nodded absently. "Go to bed mother, you need the sleep!"

"Yes, enjoy your breakfast darlings, love you," she said kissing Victoire on the cheek before leaning over to kiss her husband. "Oh, and Victoire, Louis said congratulations and to give you this," she handed Victoire a letter which her brother had written last night before leaving. Apparently, he still loved her, and wanted to be the one to teach her son quidditch since his father wasn't in the picture. Victoire couldn't help but laugh, quidditch, of all things.

* * *

Two nights later, Victoire sat at the long table at the burrow, surrounded by her family and a few extra friends. She had asked Andromeda to come over when she had stopped for tea the day before, she figured she could kill all the birds with one stone. The less people she had to tell individually, the better. Currently, there was laughing, joking, talking, a bit of arguing, but that was mostly between Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. She looked over at James who was trying to feed everything on his plate to his wife. Apparently, he thought she needed fattening up, as she, being pregnant with only one child, had yet to gain any pregnancy weight and practically disappeared if she turned sideways. Victoire caught Elaine's eye, and her friend gave her a thumbs up and an encouraging smile. She tried to return the gesture, but inevitably, the look she gave back looked more like she was severely constipated.

Standing up, she cleared her throat. It was now or never, if her relatives would just shut up. Finally they were all looking at her expectantly except for Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione who had failed to notice that everyone else had gone quiet.

"Honestly Ronald, sometimes I seriously doubt that you do in fact posses a brain!" Aunt Hermione was saying angrily.

"It's just not as freakishly huge as yours!" he shot back loudly, the way that his voice rang around the room alerted them that they were indeed the only ones talking. They glared at each other before looking around the room sheepishly. "Rose," they said together as if to explain, both of them glaring at each other again due to their simultaneous explanation.

"Okay, while that was er, wonderful, I think that Victoire had something she wanted to say," said Elaine breaking the silence in a way only someone new to the family could get away with doing.

"Okay, er, well the thing I wanted to tell you is, well, the thing is," Victoire said nervously with the seventeen pairs of eyes looked at her, and she wasn't even counting Aunt Alicia and Uncle Charlie's kids.

"Come on," said Uncle Ron impatiently, "Out with it!"

"I'm pregnant?" she said sitting back down as quickly as she said it.

"WHAT!" exclaimed a few voices in unison. Suddenly Uncle George was laughing hysterically.

"AHAHAHAhaha!" he exclaimed, earning a glare from Aunt Angelina. "Did you turn your calendar one page too many this morning? You're a month early for April Fools, Toire! Don't worry everyone, my birthday is still a month away and there's plenty of time to get the perfect gift. But still, good one Toire." He was laughing so hard that his eyes seemed to be welling with tears almost.

"Uncle George," she said. "I'm not joking. I really am pregnant, I'm due for a set of twins, one boy and one girl, to arrive on August first. I have the bloody sonogram picture if you want to see!" Everyone looked at her in shocked silence for a few minutes. "YEAH! NEW LIFE! The Weasley family is this much closer to breaking the population barrier!" She waved her hands happily in feigned elation. No one laughed or even cracked a smile.

"Congratulations," said Grandma Tonks suddenly, rushing over and hugging Victoire. "Wow, this is a huge step, but I'm assuming you'll be giving birth right around the time that you gain your residency and you'll have plenty of maternity leave and vacation time."

"Well, yes, I already talked about it to my supervisor, and she doesn't see it being a major problem." Suddenly all of the Aunts and of course Grandma Weasley were all hugging her, Grandma Weasley crying as she exclaimed over two more great grandbabies. Aunt Alicia was giving advice on twins, and of course Grandma Molly had a thing or two to say about that too, and miraculously, they seemed to accept it. It was the way she had never pictured it happening. She had envied Elaine weeks earlier for her happy reaction, but she got hers too! She couldn't stop grinning as even Uncle Percy hugged her. And she thought he would be one of the more scandalized.

"You're absolutely right, no sense being upset now, of course this wasn't what I envisioned for you, but things don't always go as planned. You're a strong girl, intelligent, kind, and beautiful. You'll be a wonderful mother, and you have all of us, your huge family, backing you. You will have all of the help you could ask for, and your babies will have all the love in the world," said Grandpa Arthur a few hours later as she sipped some tea. She hadn't really gotten to talk to him individually, and she was rather afraid of his opinion. "If you want the truth, some of the best things in life are the things you never planned on. Look at your Aunt Ginny, best thing that ever happened to this family. We thought we were done after the twins, and Molly said NEVER again. But then came Uncle Ron, and then, well Aunt Ginny was a surprise too. But she was my little princess, and without her, this family couldn't have survived a lot of things."

"Yeah, she's sort of like the glue, isn't she," commented Victoire, watching her vibrant haired Aunt laughing with Uncle George and Uncle Percy. Suddenly she saw James coming to her across the room, and Elaine trailing after him, looking nervous.

"So, I'm one of the last to find out? Ellie knew?" he said.

"She's my best friend, James," said Victoire looking down.

"Don't think you're getting out of the third degree, my birthday is coming up, and everyone will be there. And by everyone, I mean everyone. The Aunts and Uncles may be accepting because they had unplanned pregnancies, heck I think that was why Uncle George and Aunt Angelina got married, and I know it was why Uncle Percy and Aunt Penelope finally tied the knot, but really. Ted, Al, Hugo, Fred, Lou and I will be coming around for a talk soon." No wonder Uncle Perce hadn't minded. She had forgotten about that.

Victoire's eyes widened, dear Merlin she hoped not. An ambush by her cousins she could handle, but she couldn't bear to tell Ted, she really couldn't, oh, Andromeda would write him, and then he'd know she was some kind of slag who was going to have a teenage unplanned pregnancy. He'd never look twice at her when she was saddled with two kids and the baby fat. Okay, maybe not the babyfat, since well, veelas didn't keep pregnancy pounds.

* * *

_March 2, 2019. _

_Dear Teddy,_

_It's worrying me how little I've seen of you since James' wedding. You haven't been to see me since, and what's more worrisome is the three short letters I've received since then. This isn't like you Teddy. I miss you, and I know that your friends do too. With your friend Orion in France and Murphy being so busy with his quidditch team Poodleperi United, James seems lonely. He probably misses you. Besides him, Victoire Weasley really needs a friend right now. She's been acting funny around me for weeks, and I knew she was hiding something from me. However, in my ever hopeful way, I had thought she was hiding a secret relationship with you! That of course would explain your odd behavior as well as hers. Unfortunately, only her odd behavior was explained last night at a Weasley gathering with all of the adults and Hogwarts Graduates in attendence. I'm sure Fleur would have sent you an invite, but it would have arrived Friday morning. In any case, she announced what she was hiding, and it was revealed that she is pregnant. Imagine my shock! The family was so surprised that Uncle George thought it was a joke. Victoire was very upset and seemed to think we would all curse her upon hearing the news. She is having twins, a boy and a girl, and she is due August 1__st__. I really think, as I said before, that she could use a friend right now. As one of her oldest and dearest friends, it is your duty to be there for her. Please make sure she realizes she isn't alone and unloved. She needs you Teddy._

_Love and kisses,_

_Gran_

Teddy ran his hand through his hair after reading the letter. His first reaction was most definitely elation, followed shortly by panic. If Victoire was indeed going to have his child, no children, then he had a lot of explaining to do. Of course the first thing being that he was Edward Knots, and had morphed into Edward in a combination of bad judgment while panicked and drunkenness. There was also why he hadn't come forward earlier as her one night lover. He was in deep shit, but what was he to do when he knew he had slept with her, and then she was pregnant. If he didn't come forward, in all likelihood at least one of the children she was carrying would be a metamorphmagus like him and it would be quite obvious who the father was. He needed to set aside his pride, swallow his fears, and fess up.

Rereading the letter though, something was nagging at his mind. What was it, what was it? And suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks. Elaine was due September 14th, something that James had already told him about fifty times during visits and letters. James had also said how Elaine had been impregnated pretty much on the wedding night, or at least the honeymoon. Looking at the clock, he realized he had time if he rushed. He managed to get to the Egyptian Ministry's Magical Library right before closing time. Rushing to the librarian, he asked to be directed to books on pregnancy and was immediately given about ten books that he could check out if he got out of there fast.

Once home, he began reading, and in no time at all his worst fears were confirmed. Nine months, pregnancies were nine months, or about 280 days, or 40 weeks long. And he was good at math. Very very good at math. Hell, he worked for Gringotts… well not really. But he knew, without a doubt, that these were not his babies. If so, they would be due the same time as baby boy Potter. Tossing the pregnancy books, his dreams of a life with Victoire Weasley and a set of part veela, part metamorphmagus, part werewolf children vanished. Slamming open a runes text, he threw himself into his work, planning on remaining submerged in it until he drowned, or forgot. Whichever came first. A glaringly bright ray of hope only to be snuffed out cruelly. Not his. Not his.

* * *

Victoire stared at the gaggle of cousins that had cornered her in her dad and Uncle Charlie's old bedroom at the Burrow. Pretty much everyone third year and up was staring down at her as she sat on her dad's old bed. James was clearly the leader and she was relieved to see that Teddy wasn't there, but then again, she really missed him. Granny Tonks said that she had written him, but he hadn't written back since. Victoire knew what that meant, he hated her.

All of her cousins had found out pretty much the day after she had told the Aunts and Uncles. They had all owled the Hogwarts kids with the news. She had received letters, but she knew that they were planning to talk to her at James' 19th birthday party. Why else would they all have opted to come for his party? And now she was surrounded by ten faces, James, Albus, Hugo, Louis, Fred, Dominique, Lily, Rose, Scorpius, and Elaine. Elaine was probably the only one that wasn't here to give her the third degree.

"Is it true!?" demanded an obviously upset Lily. She was the only one of the girls who hadn't known before the big reveal. She wanted to hear from her cousin herself that she was indeed pregnant.

"Yes," said Victoire with a red face. The cousins stared at each other in horror, each had been secretly refusing to believe it was true until they had heard it from her very lips.

"Pregnancy,my friend, is the worst STD known to humans, symptoms include but are not limited to pain, abnormal weight gain, poverty, and 17 years of torture. My sympathies," said Scorpius with a smirk as he broke the awkward moment. Everyone seemed to snap to life again, and Victoire couldn't help smiling.

"H-how?" asked Albus, obviously having thought the entire thing was a joke or something before.

"Would you like me to draw you a diagram?" Victoire snapped. "What a ridiculous question! Albus, you're a sixth year, what is the sixth year project? Honestly!"

"No, I mean...who's the father?" Albus asked. It was the dreaded question, and everyone was staring at her. She had avoided the question with the adults by merely saying that he was out of the picture. She didn't think that her cousins would be so accepting. Only Elaine seemed to realize that she wouldn't be revealing anything.

"Can I feel your stomach?" asked Rose suddenly, so maybe she knew too. This seemed like a diversion tactic. Victoire reluctantly lifted her shirt and let her cousin press her hand to the small bump that was her babies.

"Ok who is the little shit that we have to beat the fucking crap out of?" James demanded, staring almost in horror at Victoire's not so flat stomach.

"That's irrelevant." Victoire said immediately. Now her cousins looked angry and confused.

"What do you mean irrelevant!" Albus yelled. "Someone knocked you up! We have a right to know!"

"Well no!" Victoire yelled back. "_He_ doesn't know- I never told him." Now her cousins simply looked confused or stunned.

"Victoire, you are expecting someone's baby, you have to tell them." Hugo reasoned. Merlin he took after Aunt Hermione.

"You know what, I'll think about it, about telling _him_ that is. How does that sound?" she said, feeling all of them staring at her with looks telling her she needed to tell Edward Bloody Knots that he was going to be the father of two.

"Think about it Victoire. I mean, if you were a guy, you would want to know if you had kids, and then think of your kids. They deserve a father, even if he is a loser," said Hugo.

"FINE!" exclaimed Victoire. "I'll bloody tell him, just leave me alone! Pregnant women like myself need sleep. Fancy a nap?" she asked Elaine, who was just starting to show. They were both almost four months, but Victoire looked quite a bit larger. She was just happy because she was fat for less time than Elaine, even if she did end up fatter. She gave birth about a month or so earlier than Elaine. Her goal was to make it 35 weeks, that was the point when risk pretty much minimized. Elaine would go about 40.

"Yes, I would fancy a nap. Happy birthday love, enjoy your party, I'll enjoy a nap," said Elaine standing on her tip toes to kiss a somewhat fuming James. He wasn't happy with the situation, but at least Victoire was somewhat agreeing to see reason. And he knew that he would discover her secret soon enough. He would get it out of her, or his wife, if it killed him.

**Hope you liked this chapter. Please please please review!!! I just posted some new stories, Can You Keep A Secret? and Mr. and Mrs. Black, which is Orion's sequel. All of you who want to hear about him and his wife Lia, check it out. Check out my other stories and review them too and vote on my poll.**

**Elaine**


	18. Discoveries and Disasters

**This chapter was so hard, and I rewrote it so much to get it like this even. I'm not sure how well I like it, but yes, hopefully you guys like it, even if it might not be exactly perfect. It's good enough I guess. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!! THANKS!!**

Staring at the paper in front of him, Teddy almost couldn't breathe. He couldn't believe he hadn't figured it out earlier. Of course! This was the happiest day of his life! This was amazing! He couldn't wait to share the good news with everyone! This was amazing!- he was repeating himself. Well actually, it was going to be a lot of work, and maybe he shouldn't tell everyone just yet. He looked at his calendar, James' birthday was a week away.

He was shocked yet elated, and of course, how could he have been so naïve? He had never envisioned this in his wildest dreams, well maybe his wildest, but certainly had never truly seen this as a reality in his future. Looking once more at the parchment in front of him he grinned broadly.

* * *

After James had left the room, Victoire looked over at her best friend who was laying on Uncle Charlie's old bed. "What are you going to do?" asked Elaine.

"I'm going to have to talk to him, because as much as I hate to admit it, Hugo is right," said Victoire, laying on her side and frowning.

"Well, how about we talk about it tonight at your house, because I really am tired, and well, I think we both know that James is right outside the door listening while your dad and George are probably the ones that are dangling the extendable ear down the vent," said Elaine with a sigh. There was a crash from upstairs followed by some loud cursing.

"Actually that sounded like Uncle Ron was with them," said Victoire closing her eyes. "Someone who has been eavesdropping, wake me up for cake!" Elaine grinned and seconded that.

* * *

Hours later, Victoire sat on her couch with Elaine. "So you said his name is Edward Knots?" asked Elaine sipping her tea.

"Yes, but I have no idea about anything. How do you tell some guy that you don't even know that he is the father of your unborn children?"

"I have no idea," said Elaine quite unhelpfully.

"I mean, I don't think a letter would be polite," contemplated Victoire and Elaine shook her head in agreement. "Seriously, what would I say? 'Dear Edward, you might not remember me, but we met at the Potter Wedding, and I was the blond from the next morning. Well imagine my surprise when I found out I was pregnant a few weeks back. It's yours! Congratulations daddy!'"

"Yes, I don't see that going over well," said Elaine with a frown. "And you said you have no idea who he is? Could we sneak into the ministry and do an undercover mission to find his birth certificate and track him down? You know, I always wanted to do something cool like that!"

"WAIT!" exclaimed Victoire hopping up. She had almost forgotten. She rushed into her bedroom and dug through the junk in her vanity table drawer as Elaine followed more slowly and observed her. Finding the small white piece of paper, she grinned triumphantly and held it up in the air. "FOUND IT!"

"OHHH THE MAGIC PAPER!" exclaimed Elaine sarcastically.

"Not just any paper, this is his business card. I forgot that he left it on the table that morning," said Victoire looking at it happily. Elaine gave her an exasperated look.

"How could you forget that!" exclaimed Elaine grabbing the card.

"Err.. it was convenient?" asked Victoire hopefully.

"Hmmm…. He works in the ministry. The same floor as your father," said Elaine thoughtfully.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Victoire.

"Says it right here, **Department of Gringots and Relations, British Ministry of Magic Floor Nine Office 22,**" said Elaine pointing to the card. "At least you know he makes a decent living."

"FUCK!" exclaimed Victoire. She had only ever gone to her father's office once, his was in the back, but if he saw her at the Ministry, particularly in his department and not visiting him, he would know something was up. Also, her mum was his secretary. So, obviously, there was a major problem. Besides them, half of her family worked in the ministry. Aunt Penelope, Uncle Percy, Aunt Hermione, Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron, Aunt Angelina, they all worked in the ministry! Grandad too! SHIT SHIT SHIT!

"Okay, let's think about it, what if, hypothetically, you went into the ministry disguised. I know it's hard with the security, but then they wouldn't see you!" said Elaine.

"Errr, well, how about we think about this, we might be able to do something, but I'll need your help. However, now at least we have the first step, figuring out who he is and how to contact him. Next step, ambush him, step three, tell."

"Yeah," said Elaine giving Victoire a funny look. "Well, I'll see what I can come up with, but why don't you come over tomorrow night."

"Can't, it's Thursday," said Victoire.

"Oh yeah, Granny Tonks. It's great how supportive she is of you," said Elaine. "That set of blankets she crocheted was super cute! Not that Grandma Weasley won't knit you some blankets too. I already got mine, all cute and blue."

"Awww," said Victoire. Suddenly the fireplace flashed green and the girls stopped talking to see James appear. Stumbling into the room, he looked at them, looking disappointed.

"I just wanted to ask if you were actually going to reveal the identity of the imbecile that impregnated you," James said.

"Let me think…how about…NO!" answered Victoire who was tired of everyone trying to find out who was the father.

"I'll get it out of you yet!" he proclaimed. Looking at his wife, he smiled. "Ready to go, Ellie and belly?"

"JAMES!" exclaimed Elaine, knocking away his hand which had gone to caress her baby bump.

"It's my birthday, and you're here!" he whined. "I'm bored," he proclaimed sticking out his lower lip.

"Go bother Murphy, Teddy, or Black."

"But I want to bother you," he said with a wink. Elaine turned pink and looked to her friend.

"I'll see you at the Weasley dinner on Sunday, don't forget to look something up!" said Victoire waving off her friend. Elaine grinned and left with James through the fireplace. Victoire laid down on the couch with a sigh and glared at the business card. Rubbing her stomach thoughtfully, she contemplated. Edward R. Knots. Edward R. Knots. Curse Breaker and Banker…

* * *

Meanwhile, Edward R. Knots, or in reality, Theodore R. Lupin, was furiously writing as a potion simmered next to him. He needed to finish it within the next few hours if he wanted to be on time. Luckily, it only took a few more intense hours of brewing for this potion. Thank goodness. However, it was harder than anything he'd ever done in NEWT potions, and he wasn't particularly good at potions.

By almost five, he was finally done. Adding the last ingredient before corking it, he watched it turn a glowing silver color. Perfect. It was perhaps the one potion he had ever brewed entirely correct. Now all he had to do was apparate cross continent. He could apparate to England, just not to Egypt. He was more familiar with England and he was an actual citizen there.

* * *

The next morning Victoire went to work and tried to ignore everything around her. The hospital was particularly busy that day, and she was tired of gossip for now. She was tired all the time because of the twins, and she had dinner at Granny Tonk's house tonight. She was really hoping it was going to be spaghetti. YUM!

By the end of the day, she was ready to go home. She had a headache from all the chatter at work, and she was sure that it had been louder than normal. After changing out of her work robes and into a warm Weasley sweater to ward off the late March chill, she left the hospital. On her way out, she almost thought she saw Teddy Lupin in the hallway, but she was pretty sure that it wasn't him. She had only seen him from the back. She needed to stop obsessing over Ted and get him off her mind. After all, she was having children with another man!

Ringing the bell at Granny Tonks', Victoire was feeling drained. However, the exuberance that Granny Tonks greeted her with didn't go unnoticed. "VICTOIRE! YOU'RE HERE!" she exclaimed.

"It is Thursday the 28th?" asked Victoire wondering if she had slept through a day or something. No, she knew it was Thursday.

"Of course silly, but with all the excitement, I'm just," she broke off at Victoire's puzzled expression. "You don't know!" she realized.

"I don't know what?" asked Victoire only to be given a shocked and elated expression by Andromeda.

"I'll get the evening prophet, it's on the first page!" she grinned and rushed off while Victoire sunk into the couch. What now?

"LOOK!" said a glowing Andromeda placing a copy of the prophet in Victoire's lap. Victoire looked at the paper in shock, not caring that her mouth was hanging open, and that she probably looked like an idiot.

**TEDDY LUPIN DISCOVERS CURE FOR LYCANTHROPY **

A copy of the Quibbler plopped on her lap too.

**Son of Werewolf Discovers Cure! Used Ancient Texts to Uncover Secret Potion!**

The Wizarding Word piled on top of that one.

**Lupin cures Werewolves! Exclusive Interview inside!**

Victoire stared in shock. TEDDY? WHAT?!

"He was translating some sort of ancient texts on the side for fun, and he thought it was some werewolf legend, but it had the story of the original werewolf and a CURE! He brewed some potion as soon as he found out and went to Saint Mungo's last night to try it on the patients that come there for the full moon which was last night! He said he's really been throwing himself into his translation lately but he hadn't even realized what he had discovered until last week. He said he was utterly shocked. And he was brewing the potion all day yesterday during James' birthday, which is why he couldn't come. He had to get it done for the full moon. He apparently showed up at St. Mungo's and asked all of the patients if they wanted to try it, he said he wasn't sure if it worked or not, but there is really only one way to test these things. Only three of them tried it, but they didn't undergo any transformation at all, except one of them said that he felt like he got a little hairier than normal, and err.. well yeah, and so there you go. His father would be so proud, and I wish Remus had lived to see a cure!" explained Andromeda, summarizing the articles as Victoire continued to stare in shock.

"So Teddy, _our_ Teddy, cured werewolfism? He found a potion that can be used to prevent the transformation."

"YES! Apparently, his theory is that this ancient cure was lost during the dark ages, you know a lot of magic was lost then. And really, that was a point in time when werewolfism was actually fairly low. It exploded about the 1600's. And really, the 1800's were the worst, but we've gotten a little more of a grip on it in the 20th and 21st centuries."

"Oh Merlin!" exclaimed Victoire, realizing the enormity of the situation. "Of course that was the buzz at work, and I MUST have seen him! And I wasn't imagining things. And OH! Wow! This is so exciting for Teddy!" She said aloud in wonderment. He would be wealthier than the guy who discovered the wolfsbane potion! And that guy was rich! She was supposed to be the healer in the family, and here he was curing diseases! And she was the pregnant one whose life was headed in a direction she had never imagined. A single mother of two before she was twenty! She needed to tell Edward!

* * *

Teddy looked at the wrinkly, old, Ms. Fornswaith who peered right back at him from behind her giant thick lensed glasses. She grinned at him, showing off a pair of surprisingly straight and white teeth. He figured everyone had to have an attractive trait, and hers were most definitely her teeth.

"I'd like to talk with Mr. Pacino," he said confidently, setting his briefcase on her desk and leaning on it. Maybe he could charm her into an appointment.

"Nooooooo appointment," she tisked in her squeaky voice. "But, whyyyyy don't you wait heeeere." Teddy groaned inwardly and went to sit. Picking up the newspaper, he groaned. This might just be the same bloody paper from last time. They really needed to subscribe to a waiting room magazine. Or something!

"Miiiiistah Knots. Miiiiistah Paciiino weeell seeeee you riiight away," she said coming right back into the room. Teddy hopped right to his feet, happy to not have to wait. Apparently, being nominated for a Flamel award and an Order of Merlin First Class deemed that you no longer had to wait unseemly amounts of time before being able to see your boss.

"MR. KNOTS!" came the booming voice from behind the desk. Teddy shut the door behind him, knowing that he would be directed to if he didn't do it right away.

"Mr. Pacino," he said bravely. For unknown reasons, this man terrified him more than Teddy felt that was merited. He had no idea why he had such intense fears of this man.

"So, I'm sure that you're here about your recent discoveries and newfound celebrity status in the wizarding world," said Mr. Pacino, turning his desk around so he could face him. Teddy couldn't help but wince, seeing the long scar on the man's face. He refused to call the man Scarface. It didn't seem right.

"Yes, actually. I wanted to be the first to tell you about my new business venture," said Teddy, snapping open his briefcase.

"Continue."

"Well, err… As you know, I have recently discovered, or rediscovered, the cure to Lycanthropy, which I am calling the Lupin Lycanthropy Elixir. I am the sole possessor of the patents and rights to this potion, as was granted me by the ministry. Therefore, it is my intent to market and sell this potion at a very reasonable price in order to help the many sufferers of this disease. It's a difficult potion to brew, and some of its ingredients are very rare, but I wish to make it available to the general public. I don't want someone else exploiting these people. My father was a werewolf, and I can identify with them," said Teddy. He had to convince him.

"That's a great idea, Mr. Knots."

"Thank you, I'm going to announce my business opening after the Flamel Awards, perhaps if I win, I'll announce it then. But it's going to be called Lupin Lycanthropy Liberation Liquids, and I will be the person running it. I'm going to have a brewery built in northern Scotland, and hire a few potion masters. I'm not so top notch at potions myself. And then, within a year, I think that my company will be at a mass market level. Of course it will have to start small, but I'm picturing that within six months, we should be catering to the entire British market, and I can enlarge the company. Until then, temporary rights to brew will be given in other countries, but considering the rarity of one of the key ingredients in the potion, it should be interesting. My goal is to cure the entire world of werewolfism by the time of my death. Whenever that may be."

"What is this rare ingredient?" asked Mr. Pacino with a slight frown.

"Metamorphmagus hair," said Teddy with a wry grin as he changed his hair length and hair color randomly. He had an endless supply of hair that he could grow and cut, as long as he was healthy, but metamorphmaguses were rare, and some may use their hair as a way to make huge profits now that it was a vital ingredient in the cure for werewolves.

"Ironic," said Mr. Pacino. "So I'm assuming that you are wishing to quit your job in Egypt in order to run this business."

"Actually, no. I really enjoy my job, and I have… reasons for remaining in Egypt at this time." Teddy didn't say what the reason was, but it was in fact Victoire Weasley. He couldn't stand to see her, having another man's children, a man she might love. He didn't want to witness that. "So, I wish to stay in Egypt for another year, I might consider making a brewery down there too. I'm sending my hair to make all of the potions that my company will make. Other than that and the paperwork, I can run my company from Egypt, or wherever I like. In about a year though, I think I would like to return to England, and set up perhaps a shop, and begin a true company. I think that by that time, the company will be international, and quite large. I will be needed a bit closer to home. Perhaps then I could take a desk job here. Another thing that makes this ideal, is that there are no real records of Teddy Lupin in Egypt, but if Edward Knots suddenly leaves, well that could arouse suspicion. I'll stay in Egypt for a while if that is alright."

"That sounds perfect."

"Thank you for understanding sir. I'm happy to be able to tell you of my plans. And, if you would like to invest in the company, a select few of my close friends and family have been offered the chance to help me get started. If you would like to," said Teddy, thinking perhaps the man would be happy to be a part of it.

"No thank you, but I have a good friend who might want to invest," said Mr. Pacino. "He works in the department, you might know him. How about you owl a Mr. William Weasley."

"Thank you sir, he's already on my list of people to see," said Teddy.

"Who is investing in your company?" asked his boss.

"My Godfather and, George Weasley so far. And if I win the Flamel Award, the prize money will be very helpful. Ten million Galleons is quite a bit of money if I win."

"Theodore, do spend some of that on yourself. That is your money if you win, you will have earned it. It is not just for the company. Be a wealthy man," said Mr. Pacino gravely. "It's meant to be a reward, treat it as such." Teddy placed a face smile on his face and was dismissed. He couldn't very well tell Mr. Pacino that all the money in the world lost its value if he didn't have the perfect woman to share it with and spend it on.

* * *

Three days later at the Weasley Family Dinner was when she first heard the news. She was quietly eating her browned steak and green beans which she had poured over her mashed potatoes and listening to the conversations around her when she heard it. James had been trying, once again to force feed Elaine as much food as possible.

"Nominated for the Flamel Prize for Healing," she heard her Uncle Harry say.

"Haven't been to the awards since you won the Flamel Peace Prize in 2000," Aunt Hermione said.

"Sure he'll win, shoe in," she caught Uncle Ron's voice.

"I think most of us are usually invited," she heard her father say. "Next Thursday, we'll all take the day off."

"We can take him out to dinner to celebrate," she heard her mother saying.

"WAIT!" exclaimed Victoire. "Is Teddy nominated for a Flamel Prize?" she asked, seeing her family members nod, she continued. "And how many of you all are going to go to the awards ceremony next week?"

"I'm sure all of us will go, all of us are pretty high up and are invited annually. We aren't exactly nobodies," said her father as everyone nodded in agreement. Merlin, he sounded as pompous as Uncle Percy. "Would you like to come? We could get an extra ticket?"

"No, that's fine," said Victoire. "That's wonderful news by the way."

"He's also being awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class next month," piped up Uncle Percy. Victoire frowned and looked back at her food. Teddy would be famous, wealthy, and well, important. She would be a nobody. He would want nothing to do with her now, and really, she wouldn't blame him. Now, if she revealed her secret love for him, well, she would seem like a gold digging, fame following, slag. He would find an equally famous supermodel or something, and marry her, and they would have beautiful little metamorphmagus children and live in a huge manner in Scotland, and raise flying horses or something. And she would probably be stuck as a single mother with child support from Edward Knots.

She managed to finish her food and listen to the conversation. The Flamel Awards were to be awarded next Thursday on Nicholas Flamel's Birthday, and all of her Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents would be absent from the ministry in order to attend. In fact, most important people would be gone from the ministry on that day. It would be the perfect day to go in without being recognized by someone. Victoire let a small smile grace her lips as she took a drink of lemonade.

At the Weasley Family dinner, Victoire had been forced to listen to an endless spiel on Teddy Lupin. Teddy Lupin was getting an Order of Merlin, First Class, the Flamel Prize in Healing, he was starting his own company, he was in Witch Weekly, the Daily Prophet, and was going to get his own chocolate frog card. Uncle Ron and Hugo were the ones most impressed by that, but then again, Uncle Ron's proudest moment was when he had opened a chocolate frog card to find himself. Well, perhaps his marriage to Aunt Hermione and when Rose and Hugo had been born were a bit prouder, but other than those.

After dinner, she had arranged for Elaine to come over to discuss everything. She knew that Elaine would have a plan, but now she had one too.

* * *

"So, I was researching about the effects of polyjuice potion on pregnant women, and it's not very good. I think that option is out, and then most human transfiguration isn't advisable. We could do a disillusionment charm, but still, I don't know how well that would work. So, the best idea, was James' cloak…" said Elaine.

"Well, I figured something out myself. None of my family will be at the Ministry next Thursday. They are all going to the Flamel Awards. They are all so excited to see Teddy get the award, apparently they think he has it in the bag. If I want to go into the ministry and not have them know, it's the perfect opportunity!" said Victoire.

"You're right!" exclaimed Elaine. "Now, of course you will want to wear sunglasses and stuff on your way in, and you have to have a killer outfit, so, let's start planning how you tell him."

* * *

Teddy adjusted his tie, trying his best to loosen it. He hated social events where he had to dress up all nicely. He was wearing his nicest black dress robes over a crisp black dress shirt and pants. His hair was his natural color and cropped into a short clean looking cut, his eyes the normal blue, and his face was his own. He was a bit nervous, winning a Flamel Prize was huge. Ten million galleons… that was a lot of money. A lot. He might need a bigger vault at Gringots if he won. At least he was able to sit with all of his friends and family. He looked over at Harry as the ceremony started, receiving a reassuring nod.

* * *

Victoire adjusted the sunglasses on her nose. She hated the ministry, which was part of the reason why she had chosen a profession where she could work elsewhere. She was wearing a nice set of blue dress robes with a black dress underneath, along with high heels. She had curled her hair nicely, put on some make-up, and even gotten a manicure. She was still nervous, telling a virtual stranger that he was going to be a father was huge. Two babies… that was a lot to handle. A lot. He might need to sit down before she told him. At least she had Elaine. She turned her eyes to her friend who gave her hair a final fixing along with a reassuring nod.

"Oh, Merlin, what if it all goes wrong?"asked Victoire.

"Shut up," said Elaine. "Just go in, and I'll be in a few minutes after you on the pretense of a secretarial job in the patent office. That's only an elevator ride away, if you need me. And there is the coin in your pocket. If you have an emergency, just rub it, and mine will alert me. I'll be to his office in less than five minutes."

"Thanks, not just any friend would skiv off work for this," said Victoire.

"Well, I'm not just any friend," said Elaine with a sweet smile. "I'm your best friend."

"AWWWW!" they both chorused together, the pregnancy hormones making them tear up.

"NO! You'll ruin your make-up!" said Elaine as tears threatened to spill over Victoire's eyes.

"Right, let's do this."

And with that, Victoire strode into the fireplace.

After a second of swirling, she stepped neatly into the Ministry Atrium, exuding confidence. Walking to the security checkpoint, she handed her wand over to the guard and allowed him to scan it while she waited patiently, smoothing her hair and making sure the soot repelling charm had worked. Once it had been returned to her, she headed toward the elevators with purpose.

Stepping into the elevator, she pressed the number nine and stepped back. There was only one other person in the lift, a tall black man. She looked discreetly at the little airplanes flying around above their heads. Much more practical than owls.

She got off the lift before her companion and therefore, never discovered where he was headed to, stepping onto the ninth floor, she felt a mini panic wave hit her. Taking in a deep breath, she headed away from the department of mysteries side of the floor, and toward the Department of Gringots and Relations. Going to the desk of what looked to be the main receptionist, she read the nameplate.

"Ms. Fornswaith," she said addressing the stuffy looking, middle aged witch. "I'm looking-"

"I'm actually Mrs. Gregory. Ms. Fornswaith is out today for the Flamels," interrupted the witch. Victoire resisted the urge to roll her eyes. RUDE.

"Mrs. Greggors," she said deliberately getting the obnoxious woman's name wrong. "Could you direct me to Office 22 please?"

"That way," said the woman with a point in the right direction.

"Thank you," said Victoire heading to the office. She passed numerous offices, reading the name plates but not recognizing any names. Finally she reached the correct one. EDWARD KNOTS. She decided to knock with caution. It was better to be polite than just storm in.

"Come in," came a female voice. Victoire panicked. What if he had a wife, that was visiting him right now? What if he had a girlfriend? Or a fiancé? What if he was a widower with six children and really didn't want two more? "COME IN!" came the voice, sounding a bit more forceful. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

She looked around the small room with curiosity. It wasn't what she had expected, no, it was a secretary's office. The secretary had her dark hair pulled away from her face in a fashionable French plait, and her glasses gave her an owl like appearance. For a woman who looked to be merely in her thirties, she was quite intimidating. Victoire was vaguely reminded of Professor McGonagall. The name plate on her desk read 'Mrs. Smith'. There was a set of chairs across from her desk, and a door across the room that obviously led into Mr. Knot's office.

"Hello, Mrs. Smith," she said politely.

"Hello," said the woman a bit tersely. Victoire flinched a bit at the once over the woman was giving her. She couldn't help but notice how the woman's eyes had landed on her stomach and focused a bit too much on her blond hair.

"I would like to speak with Mr. Knots."

"I'm afraid that is impossible," snapped the secretary looking back down at the paperwork. It was as she was being dismissed.

"Could I inquire as to where he is? When he will be returning to the office?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not free to disclose that information," the woman replied snootily. She began scratching something with her quill, writing Victoire off entirely.

"It's a matter of the utmost importance, I really need to talk with Edward," said Victoire emphasizing the use of his first name.

"I'm sorry, but that's just not possible, you need to schedule an appointment, he doesn't accept random women dropping by to speak with him. You should leave." She gave Victoire a rude look as if she thought Victoire had an unacceptable motive for her visit.

"I NEED TO TALK TO MR. KNOTS!" exclaimed Victoire running a hand through her hair frustrated.

"Miss, I said, you cannot see Mr. Knots today. Go home."

"WHEN CAN I SEE HIM THEN!?"

"I think he has an opening on June 4th," said the woman with a challenging look. It was as if she was daring Victoire to protest. "I could pencil you in for 10:30?"

"That's unacceptable. I need to speak with him now! Or at the very least, be given a home address to call upon his house."

"No."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO!?" shouted Victoire, who was practically frothing at the mouth by this point. The woman was very rude in the way she refused to be the slightest bit accommodating. "I'll see him myself, this very instant!" She marched across the room and was just grasping the handle on the door when she heard the woman behind her tisk.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," taunted the horrible secretary.

"Well, you aren't me!" exclaimed Victoire throwing open the door. Looking inside, she was disappointed, he was obviously not in. There wasn't even a cup of coffee on his desk to indicate he had been there earlier that day.

"Miss," said the woman who had now gotten up from her desk in what was supposed to be a threatening manner, "You need to step away from that door. NOW."

"He isn't in," said Victoire in a small disappointed voice. Suddenly the woman was pulling her away from the door.

"UNHAND ME RIGHT NOW!" exclaimed Victoire pulling away from the woman. "YOU COULD HAVE STATED HE WAS NOT IN!"

"I could have," said the woman, curling her upper lip. Victoire shrieked in indignation. This woman was a BITCH. She felt the woman release her as her veela claws were unleashed.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME LIKE THIS AND TREAT ME LIKE SCUM! I POLITELY ASK TO BE GIVEN AN APPOINTMENT WITH EDWARD KNOTS, AND YOU TREAT ME LIKE I AM UNFIT TO EVEN BE IN THIS OFFICE! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO IS THE INFERIOR WITCH HERE! I DIDN'T GET O'S ON HALF OF MY NEWTS TO BE INSULTED BY AN UGLY OLD BAT LIKE YOU! JUST BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A MRS. IN FRONT OF MY NAME, AND JUST BECAUSE I MIGHT BE HAVING A BABY OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE DOESN'T MAKE YOU BETTER THAN ME. IN FACT, I BET YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS I CAN EVEN HAVE CHILDREN, YOU DRIED UP OLD PRUNE! YOU BITCH, YOU BITCH, YOU BITCH! LET ME SEE MR. KNOTS!" Victoire was so enraged and wrapped up in her rant, that she didn't hear the frightened witch screech 'SECURITY!' as she backed away from the bird-like angry veela.

The two men who rushed into the office they had been summoned to, had immediately tried to restrain the angry screeching woman. Victoire had fought them off valiantly, struggling against their grasp as they tried to drag her from the office. By the time they had dragged her down the hall to the lift, one of them had a black eye and the other had some bruised balls, which Victoire might have found amusing if there wasn't back up waiting in the lift.

The two men were holding her up by her arms as she kicked her feet out in front of her in a very undignified manner that caused her to lose her shiny black pumps. She frantically thrashing against their grasp, feathers sprouting from her arms as her veela temper altered her appearance. She screamed the entire way, protesting and vilifying them and the secretary. The three other men in the lift who had been waiting to help escort the troublemaker were surprised to see it was a woman who was being so difficult, especially one of them.

"UNHAND ME RIGHT NOW YOU BRUTES! I'M NOT KIDDING! LET ME GO!!! I AM A LADY! LET ME GO!" screamed a very upset barefoot Victoire, her hair wild and tangled from the struggle. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed in a banshee like manner at the top of her lungs.

"Let the lady down," came a cold voice from the lift. The two men holding her, grudgingly set her down, but held on to her arms, as if afraid she would escape. "How dare you treat a woman so disrespectfully? I don't care who she is or what she has done, but a woman must be treated with respect and not man handled. Especially one who is obviously pregnant. Get out of my site, you brutes. The lady is right in calling you this. I will escort her out of the building, do not let me see you for the rest of the day!" the angry man continued, glaring at the two men who had let go of Victoire who had stopped struggling as soon as they had stopped pulling at her and was now indignantly huffing as she tried to fix her appearance.

"Yes, Mr. Potter," the two lowly security wizards said ducking their heads and rushing into the lift. Victoire was crying now, trying to hide her sniffles as he stalked over to her.

"James!" she said, throwing her arms around him and bursting into tears. He patted her back awkwardly.

"Shhh, shhh, Toire, what's wrong? I get a call that they need an Auror to oversee the removal of a public nuisance from the building. The last person I expect to find is you!"

"Ohh she was horrible! Horrible! And oh! I hate her! The way she treated me! And then she was grabbing me, and OHHH!!" Victoire broke out into sobs as James led her to another lift and they headed to the atrium.

"So you end up throwing a fit and getting kicked out of the ministry."

"She told me I couldn't see him," chocked Victoire around her tears.

"Obviously you're overly upset," said James, not bothering to ask who HE was, as right now that really wasn't the relevant thing and he didn't want to upset his cousin more.

"I HATE being pregnant! I'm a glass case of emotions! AND I HATE HER!" she exclaimed tearfully.

"Yes, of course it was the hormones," said James, nodding in agreement while discreetly rolling his eyes. Women. Nevertheless, he rubbed her back and let her sob into his shoulder, the entire elevator ride, trying to shield her from the rude looks from the others in the lift. That was the last thing she needed.

"Why don't I take you to my house, make you a cup of tea?" he said leading her across the atrium. She nodded, trying to stop her tears, but entirely unsuccessful. "And, as much as I hate to do this. You have been officially banned from the ministry for the next six months." Her eyes widened in surprise. "Hopefully, no one will press charges, as a matter of fact, I'll make sure they don't." He threw some green powder into the fireplace and they flooed together to Potter Manner.

Calling for a house elf, he set Victoire up on the sofa, trying to settle her down. He was crossing the room to get a tray of cookies when the fireplace glowed green again.

"POTTER! YOU DIRTY ROTTEN SCUM! YOU CHEATING LIAR! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU!!??" screeched Elaine, emerging from the marble fireplace. She was holding her wand in a threatening manner, and James looked terrified. Elaine calling him 'POTTER' was never a good sign.

"Elaine? I thought we both agreed that my name was James," he said nervously. "What's wrong?"

"DON'T ELAINE ME! IT'S DRIDEL TO YOU! YOU, YOU… MEANIE! AND DON'T THINK THAT SUSAN KINCAID DIDN'T TELL ME SHE SAW YOU WITH SOME BLOND IN THE LIFT, HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON ME FOR THE ENTIRE MINISTRY TO SEE, HOW DARE YOU?! I'M CARRYING YOUR BLOODY CHILD! YOU COLDHEARTED! STUPID, HORRIBLE…" she broke off, crying. James resisted the urge to curse in frustration at the women and their stupid hormones.

"Elaine, dearest, only woman I love, the woman that Susan saw me with, was my very hormonal cousin Victoire Weasley, who is now on our couch, and has a six month ban from the ministry after being escorted out of the building by myself."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Elaine, turning to her friend. "I LOOKED ALL OVER THE BLOODY MINISTRY FOR YOU! YOU GOT KICKED OUT!" Victoire nodded weakly. Elaine threw herself into James arms and kissed him multiple times all over his face before rushing toward the couch and looking her friend over.

"See, it's a misunderstanding. I wasn't having an affair," said James, fishing for an apology after she abruptly rushed away. Maybe snogging him was an apology?

"Oh," said a dumbfounded Elaine. She sunk down onto the couch next to her friend and looked at James expectantly as a minute or so of silence passed. "Aren't you going to get us tea or something?" James sighed. It really wasn't fair to expect an apology from a pregnant woman who was having constant mood swings. And really, it was his fault in the first place. He's the one who turned his wife into a lunatic. Besides, he kind of liked her crazy. "DON'T FORGET SOME BUISCUTS," she called after him.

"AND TARTS! STRAWBERRY ONES!" chimed Victoire.

"AND CHOCOLATE!"

"YES!" agreed Victoire. "LOTS OF IT!"

**I thought you would like to know what that thing that Teddy had been translating for months was. Hope you thought that was cool. Anyways... for those readers who have been with me forever and remember me complaining about AP tests, I got amazing scores. YEA! So, even thought my writing was delayed a lot, I really did do well! Thanks for being supportive of me so that I could do that well and still do fanfiction! Anyways, hope you liked this chapter, it was a lot of wierd stuff and random things packed together, but it will all be revealed. Tell me what you thought please. Thanks for all the wonderful reviewers. I really appriciate them and review this one too please!!**

**Elaine**


	19. Unbreakable Vow

_Dear Victoire,_

_I know I haven't written in months, but I've been busy, and to be entirely honest, I've been avoiding you. I have a major confession to make, something that I've been hiding from you for a very long time. I can't even tell you in person, some Gryffindor courage huh? I'm too cowardly to say it to your face, so I must say it in a letter. _

_Let me start by saying, that I've considered you among my best friends since we were kids. No matter what I say in this letter, I absolutely don't want that to change. Please don't let what I say change our friendship. I won't be awkward around you, and things can continue as they have for years. However, if you want to change things, well that would be more than fine with me. _

_I guess what I'm trying to tell you, is that I love you. I've loved you probably my entire life, realizing it in a romantic sense around fourth or fifth year. I've liked you for so long, but you, you are so beautiful, and intelligent, and kind. You are the most wonderful person I've ever had the privilege of knowing. I can't imagine my life without you in it, even if your role is only as my friend. _

_With your recent pregnancy, I know that I haven't been around, and for that I am deeply and truly sorry. I guess, at first I was just astonished, because I've been working up the nerve for years to date you, but obviously, someone beat me to stealing your heart. Then I was jealous, because I have always imagined your children being my children. Little miniature me's and you's. Sorry if that sounds obsessive and crazy personish. But I love you Victoire Weasley. But now, I'm angry, angry at the man who isn't there for you right now, providing for you, loving you, loving your children. _

_I don't know if he is planning on stepping into the picture any time soon, and I don't know if you harbor feelings for him. However, I do know that if you are alone, and want a man who will love and support you and your children. I want to be that man. In light of recent events, I have become, to some extent, fabulously wealthy. I would have been able to provide for you prior to these events, but even more so now. I can treat you the way you deserve to be treated, like a princess. You deserve the absolute best, and I can do that in a material sense. I can also offer you all the love in my heart, which is more than I can even imagine any other bloke ever could. _

_I realize that I am not the father of your children, but I want to be. If you so wish, I will be the father to them in every sense except genetically. I will raise them alongside you and treat them as my own. Being an orphan raised by my grandmother and Harry and Ginny, I can say that missing out on a true father figure was a disappointment, but I always had Harry, and your many Uncles and your father. I would do that for your children, I will love them as much as I love you, because if they are yours, well how could I not. _

_I guess, to some extent, I'm offering you marriage, but you can take me up on this offer as much as you want. If you only want me to support you and your children with my fortune, I'm offering all the galleons in my bank account to your disposal. If you want me to be there for your children and part of your lives then I'll gladly accept that too. If you want a marriage in name, so that the children can be Lupins, and have a father figure, but do not wish to make me your true husband in every sense of the word, I would gladly live across the hall from you all the days of my life. I want to do whatever makes you happy, because your happiness makes me the happiest._

_The last thing I want to make known in this letter, is that this is not an offer rising out of pity. I love you, and I wish with all my heart that I had told you this months ago. Please take my offer seriously, because I am heartbroken without you. I turned to my work to escape my pain of being separated from you, but my work has already been fruitful, and there is nothing left for me here. I will return from Egypt, just so I can remain by your side, be it in friendship or in love. Feel no obligations toward me or my feelings, this is about you._

_Forever Yours,_

_Theodore Remus Lupin_

Teddy looked at the letter he had just written, no, he would not send it. At least not right now. He would wait and see if Mr. Mysterious returned to Victoire and the children. For all he knew, the guy was out of the country on business and that was his reason for not coming around. His grandmother said that Victoire was refusing comment on the entire situation, but that it was escalating as the pregnancy progressed. Bill was furious on a daily basis that she wouldn't name the father. However, Teddy had a feeling it had to do with the fact that Victoire knew that her father would hunt down the bloody bastard and then there would be no father to worry about. He would be six feet under in a grave carved out by William Weasley himself. And most likely, it would look like the poor sod had just disappeared.

Suddenly a knocking at the door startled Teddy. "IT'S JAMES! LEMME IN!"

"Shite!" muttered Teddy, shoving the letter into his desk, he didn't want his friend to see it. But maybe, he would talk the idea over. He needed to wait to send it though, and James was a bit impulsive and might think it a good idea to hand deliver it tomorrow. "Coming!" he called.

Opening the door, there was James, grinning from ear to ear, and holding several bottles of firewhiskey. "Guy's night," he said wagging the bottles in front of Teddy.

"Cool," said Teddy, stepping aside, to let his friend into the apartment. "Let's go sit on the couches.

"How does it feel to be filthy rich?" asked James.

"Says the man living in a mansion who inherited vast amounts of the Potter Fortune, not to mention, Ellie's money," said Teddy.

"Hey, just making conversation. Heard your acceptance speech on the radio, it was good, but you failed to mention me by name. You gave my mum and dad all the credit when it came to the Potter Family. I'm your best friend, that had to count for something!"

"Yeah, you spilled coffee on my papers a few weeks ago."

"See, I made you double check them!" laughed James.

"Anyways, like I said, I'm dedicating the discovery to my dad, he is the one that I did all the work for, I just wish he could be here today."

"Yeah, well the whole fucking family is obsessed with you right now, Mr. I can do no wrong as I've won a Flamel Prize and earned an Order of Merlin, first class. Uncle Ron's ecstatic that we know another person on chocolate frog cards, wants to get the entire family in a series now. With my dad, my mum, my Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, Uncles George and Fred, Uncle Percy, Uncle Bill, and Uncle Charlie all on cards, it's up to the next generation. It's bloody ridiculous. I bet Al gets a card and I don't… that would kill me, it would."

"More like Lily would get a card," laughed Teddy. "You could get one for asking a witch out the most times before she said yes, though."

"Ha. Ha. You're so funny, besides, she's my wife now!" joked James. "Paid off."

"Yes, we know that Elaine was worth the trouble, but how about we discuss my girl trouble. I think I've come to a conclusion about Victoire."

"Took you long enough, it's been what? Six years, more?"

"I'm going to ask her to marry me, I love her, and I'll love her children. It doesn't matter if they aren't mine, I'll love them like they are, and I can't live without her. She deserves someone, someone to support her and love her. This guy isn't showing up, so why not me?"

"Well, I'm sure that's a great plan, but you've avoided her for months, don't you think it will be a bit prattish to do this now?"

"Well, I explained it all in the letter I am going to send her, but I might try and contact her a bit and apologize for recently. Before I propose marriage."

"Well, I'm sure that's a great idea… getting in Ellie's good graces before asking her out was always a good plan too… only worked once…"

"It only has to work once!"

It was a good week, before Victoire had enough guts to return to the Potter house. She knew that James had seen her and escorted her out of the ministry. That was just too embarrassing. She was also nervous that he would start asking questions, questions she didn't want to answer. Such as why she was there to begin with. She couldn't tell him the truth.

However, when Elaine invited Victoire over the next Friday for a girls night while James and Murphy hung out, she figured he wouldn't be home. Therefore, it was safe. Besides, she could just ignore his questions like everyone else. Her dad had been bugging her nonstop since the Flamel Prizes to tell her who the father was. She had avoided even going to the Weasley Sunday dinner with the excuse that she was still having food aversions to her grandmother's cooking. In all reality, she was starting to crave her grandmother's home made shepherd's pie.

However, she flooed over around six, and Elaine was waiting with all of the delicious goodies and food. The television was ready for them to watch the movies that Elaine had picked, and they were ready for some girl time.

"Ohh! The couch looks so comfy!" exclaimed Victoire, rushing over to the couch that was covered in blankets and pillows. She hopped up and curled up before squealing and grabbing a hot chocolate. "YUM! Did you have the elves make this just for me?!" Elaine smiled and nodded.

"So, I thought we could watch this older movie, called Father of the Bride, it's pretty funny!" said Elaine switching on the television. "But, maybe first we could talk?" she said as if thinking of the idea suddenly. Victoire wasn't fooled. Her friend had wanted to talk from the beginning.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. "Sure, what's there to talk about? I mean, what kind of guy sleeps with a drunk girl, knocks her up, leaves with barely a word, stays out of touch for months, and then when she tries to talk to him, and leaves her to get kicked out of his office when he isn't there?" she pondered dramatically. Elaine had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes since she knew her friend was serious. Instead, she opted for a safer answer.

"Um… Edward Knots?" she suggested nervously.

"URG! YES!" exclaimed Victoire before biting into a strawberry tart. "What. A. Prat."

"Yes," agreed Elaine.

"BUT HE'S THE FATHER OF MY BABIES!" shrieked Victoire.

"You're the one who said he was a prat first, I just agreed with you," mumbled Elaine as Victoire simply ate the remainder of the tart.

"I'm so sorry about everything," said Victoire, starting to cry.

"About what?!" exclaimed Elaine.

"I'm just… I'm a horrible person, I got drunk at your wedding, I don't even really remember the reception! I got knocked up, and I lied about it to my family for weeks! Oh, and remember that time seventh year when someone wore your favorite green sweater and stretched it out and spilled butterbeer on it and it was entirely wrecked… that was me! Oh, and the time that you went to honeydukes and got about 50 galleons worth of chocolate and then it was gone the next week, I ate it! It was a rough day! And I'm sorry I'm a horrible friend! I'll just go right now"

"So," said Elaine. "Have you considered what you want to do next?"

"You mean besides storming the ministry and demanding his address?" snorted Victoire.

"Well, we could do that," said Elaine with a smile. "But I was thinking something more along the lines of breaking into the records department and seeing if I could find out where he lives or something along those lines."

"I can't ask you to do that!" protested Victoire. "Then we'll both be banned from the ministry and you won't be able to visit your husband during lunch!"

"It's at least worth a try!" retorted Elaine. "I'm your friend and I want to help you!"

"FINE!"relented Victoire, pausing. "But James can't know about this."

"James can't know what?" a third voice suddenly questioned from the doorway. The two heads on the couch spun around. There stood James, his black hair rumpled, a five o'clock shadow decorating his handsome face along with his characteristic square framed glasses. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, both somewhat dirty as if he had been in potions class during a small explosion and munching happily on an apple.

"Err… that I errr.. broke your, radio," lied Victoire.

"Oh, well if that's all! I'm used to you breaking my stuff by now! Remember my toy broom when we were six?"

Victoire sniffed indignantly. "I was covering for Teddy. As if I would have touched that death trap with a ten foot pole. I told you it was me, because I knew you wouldn't be mad at me, but you would have been furious with him."

"THAT CLUMSY OALF!" exclaimed James, reverting to his six year old self. "AND HE NEVER CONFESSED!!"

"James, get over it. It was almost sixteen years ago! Right now we have more pressing matters to attend to!" exclaimed Elaine rolling her eyes.

"Yes! LIKE THE FATHER OF MY POOR UNBORN CHILDREN!" wailed Victoire, resuming her panic mode.

"How is daddy? Have you even told him yet, Toire?" The two girls shared a significant look, neither liking the direction of the conversation. "You know I'll find out eventually. Why don't you just tell me the bloke's name?"

"We can't tell you until we've told him, and we can't tell him until we bloody find him!" exclaimed Victoire suddenly before she realized what she was saying and clasped her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened. James' eyes lit up with a mischievous look that revealed he was already plotting.

"If you need assistance finding the guy, I'll do everything in my power to track him down. I am an auror, it's my job to track people down. I can use every resource available to me from my access to the records department to my invisibility cloak. I won't go after him, I'll only track him down." James sat down, seeming sincere. "Tell you what, I'll give you a few minutes to think this over. I need to change out of these clothes, I got over to Murph's, and for some ungodly reason, he was making a potion. As we all know, he was abhorrent at potions until he stopped taking them sixth year. I hope he learned his lesson, do not brew potions..."

James vacated the small parlor, leaving the two pregnant women to look at each other with questioning eyes. In the brief, hushed discussion that followed, Elaine came up with a solution that Victoire could agree to. Both were waiting patiently with their hands folded in their laps and innocent looks on their faces when James returned.

"So, have you made a decision yet?" said James returning to the room.

Victoire looked once more to Elaine, as if unsure, but her friend nodded as if to say she was entirely fine with it. "I want you to make an unbreakable vow."

"WHAT?" exclaimed James.

"Well, it was your wife's idea…" said Victoire while James gave her a pregnant women are insane look. "You vow to help us find this guy, while promising that you will in no way intentionally reveal this man's identity to anyone in the family, or allow anyone to know why you are searching for him so that they could tell the family. You can't tell anyone of importance until after the father has been revealed to the entire family. You must promise that his name will never reach the ears of my father through you before my father has been informed by myself or the… man. You also have to promise that once we have found this elusive father of my children, you will not harm him, or tell him what's going on before I myself tell him."

"Alright," said James with a gleam in his eyes. "That sounds reasonable." In a flash, Elaine was off to get everything needed for the magical ceremony. Less than half an hour later, Victoire was holding James' hand while Elaine witnessed the ceremony. Mumbled words and incantations sounded softly around the room that glowed with the eerie light of the fireplace.

"I, James Sirius Potter, promise to do everything in my power to aid my cousin, Victoire Georgette Weasley, in the locating of the father of her unborn twins. While searching for him, I vow not to disclose the identity of the father to any member of the Weasley-Potter family, particularly one, William Arthur Weasley, or anyone who may tell someone in the family. Upon discovering the location of this sought after man, I vow not to tell him of his impending fatherhood, or that I know what transpired between him and my cousin. I also promise not to lay a wand on him. This vow will be nulled at the time that Victoire Georgette or the aforementioned father of her children reveals the identity of the father of Victoire's unborn twins to William Arthur or in the case of William Arthur's death, any member of the Weasley Family. I make this my unbreakable vow on my word as a wizard."

After the ceremony had been completed, Victoire and Elaine seemed warily satisfied. Satisfied because they were happy that James had made the vow, but wary as he seemed to be happy about something that they were unaware of.

"So, reveal the identity of this scum that I must search down for you!" said James brandishing an imaginary sword. "I shall start my quest immediately, searching high and low in the records department!"

"Err… okay," said Victoire nervously. "He works in the ministry if that helps, I got kicked out of his office, but he wasn't there…"

"Just tell me his bloody name already!"

"Edward, Edward Knots."

"WHAT!" roared James ferociously, startling the two women with his violent reaction. He burst to his feet, overturning the coffee table, and ignoring the crash as the lamp smashed onto the floor. Pacing the room he glared at the two women on the couch before demanding, "WHO?"

"Edward Knots," said Victoire, starting to cry that he had reacted so violently.

James softened his face, seeing the terrified expressions on his wife and cousin's face. "Sorry," he mumbled. "It's just that, well, you're practically my sister, you know. It's strange."

"Imagine how strange it would be if he had slept with your real sister," said Victoire trying to lighten the mood and banish the dark look on James' face. It was so uncharacteristic, something was wrong, and it scared her more than anything. James was really upset about this. James turned a bit green, as if he was going to be sick, while the red color remained, which made him look like he was going to explode. A vomit explosion. Pleasant.

"Don't EVER, say that again," James replied slowly with a grimace.

"Okay," said Victoire nervously. And with that, no goodbye, James apparated from the room. Elaine and Victoire looked at each other before both burst out crying.

"HE WAS SO ANGRY!" wailed Elaine. "I've NEVER seen him like that! I'm scared! What if, what if he breaks the vow!? What if he dies!?"

"WHY WAS HE SO ANGRY?" sobbed Victoire. "IS EDWARD A CRIMINAL!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH EDWARD!? WHY IS HE SO HORRIBLE!?"

Meanwhile, James had apparated to the international floo port. Stalking into the building with a dark look, people around him backed away. Many recognized the Potter features, while others just saw the dark leather jacket, and shied from the foreboding man.

"Egypt," barked James arriving at the ticket counter.

"The soonest floo we have to there is in four hours from fireplace nine," replied the man without looking up.

"This is an emergency," ground out James, causing the clerk to look up.

"Mr. Potter?!" squeaked the man, his glasses practically falling off his nose.

"Auror business emergency," snapped James, clenching his fists in impatience.

"Yes, yes, sir, err… the Auror Port is free in a mere fifteen minutes," said the man. "I'll put you down for Cairo."

"Yes, excellent, and then please be prepared to book a floo to Egypt for a Miss Victoire G. Weasley in a few hours. She will also be using the Auror Floo, you are not to give her any trouble, especially in her delicate condition."

"Miss Wealsey, got it sir."

"Thank you," replied James gruffly, taking the slip of paper that would allow him to floo. Glancing at the paper he rolled his eyes, JAMES, not HARRY, they really could get it right once in a while.

People around him stared in awe as he casually stalked from the desk with the paper in his hand. The authority that his presence commanded was terrifying and all of the people stopped to watch as he made his way to the only two ports without giant lines, the Auror Port and the Ministry Port. The ministry Port's line was quite a bit longer, but the Auror Port was very short.

Fifteen minutes later, after about five arrivals came through the floo, and the four men in front of him flooed, James landed in Cairo. Stalking out of the flooport, his menacing demeanor spoke the universal language of do not get in his way. Apparating to the familiar dingy hallway, he set his wand in the small black metal box for muggle mail in the hallway before pounding on the door with a heavy fist.

"Coming!" came a voice through the door as James shifted on his feet, clenching and unclenching his fists. "James?" came the voice again, just before the door swung open widely.

Teddy swung the door wide open upon seeing his good friend, mistake number one. James immediately launched himself on the unsuspecting Teddy, pouncing like some type of predatory cat. The momentum of James leaping onto him threw Teddy to his back, the door swinging precariously on its hinges from the force with which it had been let go. "JAMES?" questioned Teddy as James let out a terrifying growl before slamming his fist into his friend's face.

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" exclaimed James, pummeling his friend with his fists. Teddy was defenseless, caught entirely unaware by this attack, but as James sat on his stomach while treating him like a punching bag, he slowly realized he had to fight back.

"WHAT'S THIS ABOUT!?" demanded Teddy, using all of his strength to throw himself forward and reverse their positions, as now James was on his back, Teddy however faltered at outright punching his friend. James let out a string of curse words that would have had his Uncle Ron enlightened. "IS THIS ABOUT THE TIME I BROKE YOUR BROOM WHEN WE WERE SIX?" shouted Teddy, deciding a punch or two wouldn't hurt and might shut his friend up long enough to figure out what was going on.

"NO! BUT I HEARD ABOUT THAT YOU SODDING SLYTHERIN!" yelled James before using his legs to fling Teddy away from him. Within seconds both men were on their feet, circling each other nervously. Teddy absently wondered where James' wand was while he realized his was in the other room. Luckily James didn't seem inclined to hex him into oblivion, just pummel him into mush.

"IS THIS ABOUT LILY KISSING ME AT NEW YEARS A FEW YEARS BACK? CAUSE THAT WAS TOTALLY UNCLE GEORGE'S FAULT!" exclaimed Teddy, searching his mind for what could be wrong. He remembered the New Years ball where he had been assaulted by a drunken fourth year Lily, possibly her first time drunk, who had encountered him under some of Uncle George's mistletoe that didn't let you go until you kissed. Teddy had thought it was the most awkward moment of his life when Lily had grinned drunkenly and kissed him right on the lips. 'Thanks Teddy, not bad for a first snog huh?' she had said before flitting off. He had been so stunned, he hadn't thought to be horrified at kissing her until later, when he was dealing with his hangover the next morning. The kiss had gone unmentioned since, and Teddy was fairly sure that Lily had been mortified by her actions also.

"YOU KISSED MY SISTER!?" bellowed James, launching himself across the room again to continue the fight. He upset a chair, and once again, the momentum throwing the boys downward, crashing with a thud to the ground. Driving his fist into Teddy's stomach, the metamorphmagus felt the wind get knocked out of him and struggled to breathe as James continued to rain punches into him.

"MISTLETOE!" he gasped as he resorted to desperate measures to get his angry friend off of him. Bringing his leg up in an underhanded move, he kneed James in the groin, causing James to back off enough for Teddy to roll him over and sit on him, upsetting a table as he did so. James let off another cacophony of swear words while Teddy regained his breath.

"PLEASE TELL ME THIS ISN'T ABOUT ORION GETTING MARRIED! BECAUSE I ONLY DIDN'T TELL YOU BECAUSE HE BLACKMAILED ME! HELL, I WAS ONLY IN HIS WEDDING CAUSE HE BLACKMAILED ME!" panted Teddy looking down at James whose eyes widened. Teddy winced, obviously he didn't know about that… woops.

"YOU LOUSY EXCUSE FOR A FRIEND!" screamed James reaching above his head and grasping the legs of a wooden chair. Swinging his arms in a rapid arch, he crashed the chair down onto his friend's head. Teddy's glue eyes drooped closed as he slumped sideways onto the floor. Getting to his feet, James dusted himself off, noting that his lip had a small cut, and that he might have a bruised jaw. Glancing at the unconscious man on the floor, he noted with slight pleasure that Teddy had fared much worse in the altercation. His lip was split, and his nose obviously broken, both having bled all over. James couldn't help but resent that the metamorphmagus would be able to fix his nose without any problem at all, or pain. But, he would have two shiners, and a big bump on his head too. And, he would probably be pretty sore from all the other punches James had landed. Looking down at his fists, he figured he would have to wrap them in ice, his knuckles were bloodied and bruised.

James started to walk out of the room, but couldn't help but turn back. Despite the unconscious man being an utter arse, Teddy was still his best friend, and had been since childhood. Sighing, he let his conscience get the better of him and walked back across the small room, lugging his heavy friend with some difficulty onto the couch. Reaching into his pocket, he realized his wand was still in the hall, retrieving it quickly, he conjured up a cold pack and smacked it none too nicely on top of his friend's head where a bump would be sure to be forming within hours.

"There, you happy now?" demanded James to his conscience aloud. Addressing the unconscious Teddy, "This is nothing compared with what's coming to you. This was only round one, buddy."

** Thanks for reading!!! As always, please review and check my other stories. **

**Ellie.**


	20. Very Violent Veela Victoire

**The Chapter you've all been waiting for!!! Hope you enjoy! Please review!**

Victoire and Elaine were anxious once James had left. Speculation ran wild as to why James had reacted in such a way, from the most outrageous being that Edward Knots was a serial killer who knocked up women and then killed them and his children to the most normal being that he knew him at the ministry. However, all they could do was wait for James to return, hopefully with an address. And Victoire had already decided that if James could get her an address tonight, she would go.

In the meantime, Victoire and Elaine had decided to occupy themselves with dolling Victoire up. "Try this blue dress I got at a maternity store in Diagon Alley. I probably won't fit into it for a few weeks, but since the twins make you a bit larger than me, it should fit you perfect," suggested Elaine holding up a light blue dress. "And the purple robes you're wearing would look very nice over it."

"Fine," sighed Victoire. "But my hair, it looks like my Aunt Hermione's!"

"No, my mum's hair definitely only looks like that after half a bottle of sleek easy's!" came a voice from behind them, causing both girls to shriek.

"ROSE!" exclaimed the two pregnant women, redirecting their attention to the doorway where the seventeen year old was standing.

"Relax, the house elves let me in, just got home for Easter break, thought I'd pop in to see my favorite cousin-in-law," replied the sixth year tossing herself down in a chair.

"Ahh…" said Elaine, waving her wand around Victoire's head.

"Honestly, I don't know what you're complaining about, I inherited not only my mother's unmanageable curls, but the infamous Weasley red. Worst. Hair. Combination. EVER," pouted Rose. "My life was destined to suck."

"Like your life is half as tough as mine right now, Rosie," scolded Victoire putting both hands on her engorged stomach as if to emphasize her condition.

"Yeah, how tough can it be to be pregnant and pampered?" asked Rose sarcastically. "I personally enjoyed it this fall for the sixth year project. Malfoy treated me like a princess."

"Yeah, well the whole being pregnant thing is a bit tougher when it's for real and your father is trying to pressure you into telling him who the father is so that he can castrate the poor sod," retorted Victoire with a snort at the thought of being a pampered princess.

"There, your hair looks great, your make-up is amazing, and well that dress, maybe I should give it to you to keep," said Elaine stepping back from Victoire.

"Ohh, I do hope that James lets me go tonight, I want to knock him off his feet," said Victoire, grinning at her reflection.

"Yeah, some get all the luck when it comes to the gene pool. I got stuck with red unmanageable hair, buck teeth, thank Merlin mum shrunk em, freckles and skin that refuses to tan, and ears that blush!"

"And you also ended up with more brains than most quidditch teams possess as a whole, beautiful blue eyes, a very perceptive nature, more than your fair share of bravery, and a loving heart," quipped Victoire. "Your parents determine more than your looks."

"Yeah, not everyone can be dashingly good looking, hysterically funny, amazing at quidditch, brilliant in school," came James' voice from the door. He seemed to have calmed quite a bit, in fact, he seemed a bit too calm. "Not everyone can be James Potter."

"Yes, that takes a higher class of arrogance, a supreme idiocy, an extra strong neck to support a giantly out of proportion head, and of course a delusion to actually believe all that about yourself," tossed back Elaine. "Get a grip James. No one likes you that much, not even your wife." James stuck his tongue out at his wife whose eyes widened before smirking and giving him a look that made him cower.

"Whatever, get out of here Rosie, go home, your mum is probably worried that you decided to try out your new apparating abilities. There should be some cake in the kitchen that the house elves made today, bring it to your family, make sure your dad shares," said James authoritatively taking everyone by surprise. Rose hustled out of the room.

"What was that for?" demanded Victoire. "We were talking to her."

"Yes, and I needed to talk to you two in private," answered James. "Now, I believe I have an address for a Mr. Edward Knots in Egypt and an international Floo pass for you."

"EGYPT!?" exclaimed Victoire. "What is he doing there?"

"He works in the department of Gringots and Relations, thus he spends some time there."

"Teddy works for Gringots! Do you think they know each other?" asked Victoire taking the address that James had written down and glancing at it.

"Oh, I'm sure they know each other, in fact, I think they know each other quite, intimately," replied James slowly.

"Hmm…" said Victoire, studying her appearance. "Do you think this looks good enough to see him?"

"Yup, just make sure you bring your wand, and maybe you should do that whole scary veela attack overreaction thing you and your mum do."

"I DO NOT OVERREACT! I have never overreacted in my life," exclaimed Victoire indignantly.

"And you've never been escorted out of the ministry by security either," quipped James with a sarcastic smirk.

"I DO NOT NEED THIS FROM YOU!" huffed Victoire, placing her hands on her hips angrily. James let out a small chuckle, infuriating her further. Spinning on her heel, she headed out of the room with barely a glance at Elaine who had retreated to a chair tiredly.

"What, no thank you for all the help I gave you? Who found Edward for you?" called James, watching her disappear down the hall. Smirking, he turned to Elaine. "So, now that we're alone, do you want to revoke what you said about me earlier?"

"What? About you being a pompous prat?" asked Elaine. "I meant every word… you are _my_ pompous prat."

Victoire stalked from the room fuming about James. She did not overreact. And he was stupid. Didn't even give her any details about what to expect, but then again, did she want them. A plan formulating in her mind, she apparated to the International Floo Port.

James hadn't even told her why he had reacted like he had, did he know this Edward? By the time she had made it to the service desk, she was practically growling at the thought of how stupid her cousin was. Just giving her a pass with his stupid name on it. That wasn't an international floo ticket.

Victoire may not have realized it, but as she made her way through the flooport, men stopped and stared. Her long blond hair streaming behind her was a beacon of silvery light, and anyone who looked at her face couldn't help but see the intensity. Her bright blue eyes were glittering in a dangerously attractive way, and her delicately sharp features became beautifully intimidating. Her slightly swollen belly only attracted her more attention and added to the interest of the stunning veela who was practically throwing fire as she stormed through the building.

Coming to a halt at the counter, she tapped her foot impatiently as she waited in line. Smoothing her robes and tugging at the pale blue dress, she fidgeted for several minutes before finally getting to speak to the man at the counter.

"Welcome to the London International Flooport, how may I help you?" drawled the man behind the counter lazily.

"I need to get to Egypt," snapped Victoire, unintentionally directing her anger at the man. Looking up, he squeaked. "It's an emergency, and I thought I had a ticket, but my idiot cousin just gave me his stupid signature. Pompous idiot."

"Mr. Potter?" questioned the man nervously.

"Yes, James is such an idiot sometimes… wait how did you know?" asked Victoire as she realized she hadn't mentioned James' name.

"Aa-and are you Mm-Miss Victoire G. Weasley?" stammered the man as he glanced away from her face and noted her 'delicate condition'.

"Why yes, I am," said a surprised Victoire. How did he know who she was? She was one of the lower profile members of the Weasley-Potter clan and didn't attract much attention. After all, her father wasn't the next likely candidate for Minister of Magic, Harry Potter-Savior of the Universe and Auror, the owner of Weasley Wizarding Weezes, Ron Weasley- War Hero Extraordinaire/Harry Potter's best friend and Auror, or a Famous Dragon Keeper. Her mum wasn't a former international quidditch player, or the most brilliant witch of the time. Her parents were in fact, the least famous of all the Weasley men and women, an ordinary banker and his abnormally beautiful veela wife.

"Mr. Potter said to take extra good care of you, Miss Weasley. Please follow me, you will be taking the Auror Port." Coming around the desk, he offered her his arm and gestured for another woman to take over his post. "Now, you should be able to leave in about ten minutes, if that is alright."

"Yes," replied Victoire, mystified at how her cousin had arranged this.

"Would you like something to drink before you go? Tea, coffee, pumpkin juice?"

"I'm fine thank you," replied Victoire, amazed by the service. So this is what it was like on the other side, when you were as famous as James, Rose, Uncle Harry, Uncle George, Aunt Angelina and all of them.

"I'll leave you in the capable hands of the Auror Port Captain Byrd. Here is your ticket, and enjoy your trip."

"Thank you," replied Victoire. Wow, normally she hated international floo ports, but this was quite nice.

The ten minutes before she flooed were very nice, a floo attendant treated her like first class, pestering her until she finally accepted a cup of tea. The floo was very smooth, almost more so than normal. Then again, they had had someone to catch her and prevent her from falling or anything at the other end.

After brushing off the very little soot that was on her, Victoire headed out into the foreign city. It was later here, already dark. She glanced at the address before deciding it would be best to take whatever sort of wizarding transportation was in Cairo. Heading back into the flooport, she asked an attendant. Five minutes later she was on the Egyptian version of the Knight Bus, and headed to Edward Knots' home address.

The building was dingy, dark, and utterly disgusting. Why anyone would want to live there was beyond Victoire's comprehension. The staircase that led to the door was vile, and she had to prevent herself from looking too hard because she knew she wouldn't like what she saw. The open air hallway was deserted, but the hot dry evening air seemed like an oppressive companion breathing down her neck as she went to knock on the door. She had felt entirely relaxed and calmed from the convenience of the flooport, but gradually, the disgusting building was getting her irritated.

BANG BANG BANG!

Restlessly, she paced in front of the door. Casting a human revealing spell, she knew he was home.

Teddy Lupin moaned softly.

BANG BANG BANG!

What was taking so long? She had waited a full two minutes before knocking again. He might be in the bathroom, or in the middle of something.

The noise startled the unconscious man, causing him to fall off the couch, into a painful heap on the floor. Groaning, he clutched his head, registering that there was a large bump. What the fuck had happened? Was there a particular reason that James had decided to beat the shit out of him?

BANG BANG BANG! "EDWARD KNOTS?!" came a voice.

Now she was just impatient. Couldn't he answer the bloody door? Or maybe he was ignoring her until she left.

"Shit," murmured Teddy, trying to ignore the pounding in his head that the loud noise caused. Opening his eyes, he realized it was quite dark in his apartment, but he did notice a cold pack lying next to him. Sitting up, he grimaced, realizing how sore his entire body was. He should see a healer. Slapping the cold pack to the part of his head that was pounding the hardest, he staggered to his feet.

BANG BANG BANG! "EDWARD KNOTS! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" came the angry voice again. It sounded like the annoying secretary from the Gringots branch that he had to do all of his fake Gringots paperwork through. She would probably ask him why he was so beat up… muggles? That sounded wimpy but oh well.

"I'm a coming, stop yer caterwauling!" he muttered to himself, reaching for the locks, feeling totally disoriented. What time was it? How long had he been passed out? Had he missed work?

"I HEARD THAT KNOTS! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" screeched the female on the other side of the door. Sighing, he opened the door a bit and leaned against the frame, resting the icepack on his head.

"Merlin woman, shut up!" he gritted out as her shrill voice funneled right into his ear.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP?!?" screeched the woman as he opened the door further. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" and suddenly, Teddy was under attack again, and all he could see was a bright silvery blur.

"_Expelliarmus_!" she shrieked, throwing him backwards, his wand flying out from wherever it had been. Teddy landed with a crash on the coffee table, feeling like he had broken his back.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!?" he cried.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU COWARDLY IDIOT! YOU DUTY SHIRKING PRAT! DO YOU REALIZE HOW LONG I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU!? DO YOU REALIZE HOW INCONSIDERATE YOU ARE!? NO OWL COULD FIND YOU! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" screeched the woman, picking up books that were laying around and throwing them around the room, some aimed at him, some not. He winced as she threw the teapot of his mother's at him. He couldn't help but sigh with relief as he caught it, jumping up to catch it. Even if it hurt like hell and his muscles protested the movement.

Once again on his feet, he finally got a good look at the blond storming around his apartment screaming about responsibility. Suddenly she turned on him, a flash of bright light coming from her wand as she shot a bat bogey hex his way. He barely dodged it, fearing for his well being. What was up with crazy people today? However, just as he dodged the spell, the woman stepped into the moonlight coming through the only window of the apartment.

"Vvv..Vi-Victoire??" he stammered, seeing the woman's face, and finally placing the angry voice. She however, didn't hear him and was now spouting spells. Dodging them, he dove across the room, avoiding a rather nasty stinging hex.

"I SHOULD BLOODY KILL YOU!" she screamed, causing Teddy to fear for his life. Victoire was scary, like her mum, when she was angry. In fact, she looked like she was about ready to start throwing fire any second now. She was, after all, sporting veela claws.

Another bright spell flashed near his ear, terrifying him. That one was definitely something she had made up, which meant it was probably a combination of pain and embarrassment. Dodging to his left, he thought about a way to get out of here, the secret door. He continued dodging around the room, throwing himself into spectacular dives, rolls, and jumps, until suddenly, he realized that the spells had stopped. Victoire was standing stock still.

"Teddy?" she asked in a small voice, the tip of her wand lit with lumos. He let out a relieved sigh and slumped into the chair behind him.

"Vic," he whispered.

"OH TEDDY! I'M SO SORRY!" she wailed, flying across the room, wrapping her arms around him, checking him to see if he was alright. He remained silent as she inspected him, using a spell on the blood from his fight with James, and fixing his split lip. She murmured some magical words and the pain from the bump on his head subsided. She wasn't a healer for nothing.

Teddy however was wrapped up in looking at her. It had been months since he had seen her. First was the embarrassment of James' wedding, and then, well. That was what he couldn't stop staring at. The pronounced bump seemed misplaced on Victoire's small body. He had known she was pregnant, but actually seeing it was different. He had an overwhelming urge to feel it, just to see if his eyes were deceiving him, because, they just had to be.

"Poor Teddy, I'm so sorry, I didn't think I hit you with anything," she said, crying as she healed him.

"Wasn't all you," he said reassuringly. She gave him a confused look through her tears. "You only got me with that expelliarmusspell, the rest, the rest was someone else."

"I'm, I'm just so… I thought you were someone else. I thought you were Edward Knots," she said, an embarrassed flush covering her cheeks. Teddy's shoulders sagged. This was when he had to come clean.

"Vic," he said, causing her to look up from the spot she had been staring at on the floor. She was kneeling next to his chair, getting up he ran a hand through his longish hair. "I _am _Edward Knots."

"W-what?" she said blankly as he paced the room.

"I'm so sorry, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. I _am_ Edward, he's my alias in Egypt. I'm not really working for Gringots, I'm a spy for the ministry that was planted in Egypt. That's my false identity. And, well, I… I should have come clean the morning after James' wedding. But, you, you are you, and I'm me, and I panicked, and then after you saw me, you just rushed out, and I couldn't bear to hurt you more. And I just couldn't face you, I, I couldn't handle losing you. I've lost too many people I love to lose you too, even if it meant lying to you. And then, and then…."

"You're Edward?" she asked in a small voice.

"I morphed… it was panic, I'm so sorry," he said hanging his head. "I just, I just, I love you so much, Vic. And we were trashed, I don't remember it if it makes you feel better, but I know that must have been… I have loved you for so long, and I'm sure it's my fault. I… I was just too afraid you would reject me and then I'd lose my best friend," he said. "And then… well… I couldn't face you, and then… well then… It's all my fault."

"DAMN RIGHT IT'S YOUR FAULT LUPIN! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU!? HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME, AND THEN JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THAT? YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW! HOW COULD YOU JUST LET ME WONDER!? YOU'RE WORSE THAN I EVER THOUGHT YOU WERE! HOW, HOW COULD YOU! YOU KNOW ME!?" exclaimed Victoire getting to her feet.

"Vic," said Teddy, cautious as she grew upset again. "I'm sorry I lied to you, but I figured… I understand... I understand you may never want to talk to me again, but I love you… and well, even though… well I did the math, and I wrote you a letter. Can…. Can I get it? Cause, even though they aren't mine, I… I would do anything for you… and your babies… And…" he stammered, trying to calm her down, hoping he could get her to read the letter he had written.

"WHAT!?" she screamed. She had paced the floor, obviously restraining herself from strangling him as he talked.

"I… it would be easier if I just let you read the letter," he replied dejectedly. Getting up, he cautiously made his way to his secret door, and into the other apartment. She followed him, unreadable, and he quickly retrieved the letter, handing it to her. Walking into the other room, he sunk onto the comfortable couch as she paced and read the letter. Teddy was embarrassed, bracing his head in his hands. "I wasn't… I wasn't sure if I was going to send it yet. I think… I would have waited until right before… to give the father, a chance to step in," he said as she read. This was awkward. He felt pure shame at being caught as Edward, and now having to tell her that he loved her when she obviously wanted to kill him.

Suddenly she was looking up at him, her eyes filled with tears. "You bloody idiot!" He winced. "You ARE the father!"

"What? No, I did the math, you can't con… not that you… I'm not stupid Vic, as much… as much as I wish they were mine," said Teddy.

"TEDDY LUPIN! THESE BETTER BE YOUR CHILDREN!" she exclaimed clutching her belly. "BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I DON'T ACTUALLY REMEMBER SLEEPING WITH YOU, I _KNOW _I HAVEN'T SLEPT WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN EDWARD KNOTS!"

"What? But you're due August 1st. That's a month too early for me to be the father," argued Teddy, not wanting to believe it. He had already had his hopes dashed once.

"TEDDY!" laughed Victoire although Teddy couldn't see the humor in the situation. "I'M HAVING TWINS!" He stared at her blankly. "Twins are born early! I won't be able to carry them full term, my due date _was _September 1st, but it got moved to August when we found out it was twins. They are your children!"

"Really?" said Teddy, his face brightening. It made sense. After all, sixth year, Orion's twins were born before anyone elses' children. Of course he was stupid. That was nothing new.

"Yes!" exclaimed an elated Victoire. Grinning, Teddy launched to his feet, sweeping Victoire into his arms. "Believe me, there is no other possible candidates for the father. At all, ever."

"Vic, I'm soo sorry, I never would have… I would have come forward months ago. I'm so sorry you had to go through this alone, but… I… I didn't want to step in where I had no business until I was sure that any other man was out of the picture. I didn't know if you loved him, and I didn't want… I wanted you to be happy, even if it wasn't with me, as long as you were taken care of," he rambled.

"How could I love another man? I've always loved you!" interrupted Victoire. "Since at least third year!"

"What?" interjected Teddy. "I… Me? Third…" Victoire silenced him with their first sober kiss as a couple.

After Teddy had caught on, and they breathlessly broke apart, Victoire smiled up at him. "Oh Teddy, I can't believe you are that dumb…"

"Hey! I did discover a cure to lycanthropy," he protested.

"Yes, you did…" replied Victoire. "So did you mean what you said in that letter?"

"Every word."

"I love you too, Teddy Lupin," said Victoire, causing Teddy to look surprised yet again before he smiled and kissed her soundly.

"Merlin, we were stupid," murmured Teddy as he kissed along her jaw. "I wish I remember what happened that night, what kind of confessions must have occurred."

"If we had remembered it the next morning we could have gotten together months ago. After Edward, or who I thought was Edward, I decided I would date other guys to make you jealous, but that didn't work because you weren't around. And then well, I found out about these two," replied Victoire, startling slightly as Teddy let his hands feel the bump that was their growing family. It was almost surreal, impossible that the twins in there were his.

"I avoided you. I was embarrassed that I had probably taken advantage of you in your drunken state, and then I just wrapped myself in my work to try and forget about you."

"You didn't take advantage of me, believe me, it would have been mutual."

"I'm so sorry, Vic," said Teddy, tears filling his eyes unbidden. "I love you, so much."

"Teddy Lupin, I've waited years to hear those words. I love you too," whispered Victoire, tears running down her cheeks as she embraced her longtime friend and love. Teddy grinned as he kissed away the tears.

* * *

Meanwhile, James Potter was sitting in bed, a forgotten magazine in his lap, staring at his wife with a dumbfounded expression.

"You want _what_?" he asked incredulously.

"Melting chocolate and pickled pigsfeet," confirmed Elaine as he visibly winced.

"That's just plain disgusting. I refuse to enable you to eat that."

"But you got it for me last time," whined Elaine giving him a pouty look that he wouldn't be able to resist. He winced remembering the time during their sixth year pregnancy project when they had been partners.

"Last time was the _last_ time I get something like that for you. It was disgusting then too, honestly, I can't believe I catered to your cravings like I did," he protested.

"But James!" she said sweetly with a hidden mischief in her eyes. "When you got me chocolate covered pickled pigsfeet at three in the morning, that's when I knew you weren't just any other guy."

"I'm still not just any other guy," he retorted, very much not wanting to go to the muggle grocery at this time of night to pick up something that disgusting which he would then have to watch her eat with relish. "I'm your husband."

"You got it for me last time," she pouted prettily. Sighing, he finally gave in.

Standing, he reached for his wand so he could get dressed to go out. "Last time I spoiled you," he muttered, pulling on a pair of jeans. From the bed, Ellie smirked contentedly. He couldn't help but want to smile as he saw her, propped up against the pillows, a big book in her lap. Unable to help himself, he leaned across the bed, placing a kiss on her smirking lips. Shoving his wand in his pocket, he headed for the door, wanting to pick up his jacket which was downstairs.

"James," she said, stopping him. Turning he looked at his wife, her long brown hair up in a messy ponytail and wearing his old Gryffindor Lions House Team T-Shirt. "You know you wouldn't be breaking the vow if you told me what was up with Edward Knots?" He nodded. "Why did you react the way you did?"

"What if I told you that Teddy Lupin has been utterly lovesick over Toire since about fourth year?" asked James, skirting the question.

Elaine gave him a funny look before grinning at something. "I'd say that I already knew that. Mark my words, all that sexual tension will build up until one day… BANG! Victoire will start to tear Teddy's clothes off with her teeth, or maybe her veela claws. One of the two."

"What if I told you that Teddy Lupin has a secret identity because he's working as a spy for the ministry in Egypt, and that he uses his Morphing abilities to maintain this secret identity?"

Elaine gasped. "NO!" James smirked, happy to know something that his wife didn't for once. Sometimes she was a bit of a know-it-all. "His alias wouldn't happen to be Edward Knots?" James laughed at her expression.

"Your face!" he laughed loudly, unable to help himself from amusement at her shocked expression.

"You do realize that they are probably tearing off each other's clothes with their teeth right now?" pointed out Elaine with a raised eyebrow after his mocking laughter had subsided a bit. James face fell and went from one of amusement to murderous rage and horror.

"Your face!" echoed Elaine laughing.

"NOT FUNNY ELLIE!" he stormed. "BAD MENTAL IMAGES!"

"Nevermind James, just go get my chocolate covered pickled pigsfeet." James seemed to concede and left the room looking shell shocked and more than a bit upset. Elaine looked back down at her book, shaking her head and smiling slightly.

"Do you really think?" asked a frantic James a few seconds later, causing Elaine to look up and see that he had returned… without her pigsfeet… obviously.

"James, if they were us, what do _you_ think we would be doing?" she said exasperatedly.

"I'm going over there!" he declared rashly, pulling out his wand as if in preparation for an emergency apparition to the flooport, or the creation of an emergency portkey.

"JAMES!" exclaimed Elaine, launching herself out of bed very quickly for a pregnant woman. "What do you really think you're going to do?"

"Victoire! She needs… I need to make sure they don't do anything stupid!" he proclaimed as if he was going to be his cousin's knight in shining armor.

"James… I know this may come as a bit of a shock to you," said Elaine patronizingly. "But you can't get pregnant while you're pregnant." James gave her an even more petrified look.

"But…"

"She'll be fine. Teddy loves her, she loves him. He's one of your best friends, and she's a more than capable witch no matter what happens. Honestly James, she's already pregnant, what other shenanigans do you really think they could get up to?"

**So hope you enjoyed this chapter... I absolutely loved some of the things in this chapter.. and I hope you liked the confrontation scene. That was hard to write... Please please review!!!! BTW I stole that last line from JUNO, so if you recognized that. I couldn't resist using it... Thanks for all your wonderful support to help me write this chapter. It's the hardest chapter I've ever written. Your reviews are really what guilt trips me into action. I love to hear what you thought was funny or interesting or confusing or anything! Take my new poll too. Anyways, thanks again for reading and reviewing! :)**

**Elaine A.**


	21. Good Morning Beautiful

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I am really excited for this update... it's a bit more fluffy, but I think you should like it! It got a lot longer than I thought it would... so yeah.... anyways, I'm loving college, been here about a week... not even, and I'm already acclimated. My dorm room is awesome and cute and my roommate is best described as "Disney World inside a person"... all the time! She's just awesome. Anyways... enjoy this chapter and leave me a review~**

The next morning, the first thing that Victoire registered was that she was very warm, and cozy. She absolutely did not want to get up. The second thing she registered however, was that there was an overly bright amount of sunshine in her room. Which was odd, considering one, that her room didn't face east, and two, that bright sunshine during an English spring was unheard of. However, after a moment's consideration, Victoire decided she really wasn't that curious about the bright light and just wanted to sleep some more, she was nice and warm, yet not too hot, her pillows were soft, and above all, the twins weren't kicking the hell out of her yet, and she didn't have to pee.

Snuggling deeper into her pillow, she heard a soft chuckle. Letting her eyes flutter open, she was met by a pair of the brightest blue eyes, and the events of the night before flooded back into her mind. Propped up on one elbow and watching her sleep was Teddy Lupin, her longtime friend, crush, and now… well whatever they were. She flushed, embarrassed that he had been watching her. She just hoped she hadn't been drooling, or mumbling, or anything like that.

"Morning Vic," he whispered, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. She must look a mess after last night, her hair was probably a disaster. She turned bright pink, remembering everything that had happened last night.

"Morning Ted," she returned rather awkwardly.

"You know that you're absolutely beautiful when you sleep?" he asked, pulling her closer to him. She couldn't help but smile. He didn't seem to be regretting last night, and he seemed… happy. Somehow, he made her feel comfortable, like they had been waking up like this every morning forever. It was just right.

"I've never actually watched myself sleep, so no…I didn't know that." she giggled as he ran a hand down her back which she now realized was bare.

"Hm… well you are," he said leaning over and kissing her. Victoire sighed contentedly. This had to be the best morning of her life. This had to be a dream, with the bright Egyptian sunshine pouring in through the window, and the handsome, sweet, wonderful Teddy Lupin laying next to her.

"You are a pretty nice sight to wake up to in the morning too," she returned as he kissed his way down her neck.

"I didn't realize you were wearing this last night," commented Teddy, pausing in his kisses to examine her necklace. It was a heart shaped locket made of white gold, and he recognized it instantly.

"I… I never take it off," confessed Victoire. "You were the one who gave it to me after all."

"It suits you," said Teddy with a slight smile, as if he were very pleased that she had worn it so long. "My mum always wore it too, she told Gran it made her feel closer to my dad when they were separated in the war."

"I felt that too!" exclaimed Victoire. "Well, closer to you, not your dad."

"Well," said Teddy blushing slightly. "When I left, I wanted to give you something, a part of me to stay with you while I was gone. I thought that the locket was a good symbol for my heart. The moment I stepped out of the floo and into Egypt, I knew I had left it with you. I feel whole for the first time in months. Being here with you, it feels like my heart is finally beating again, like the part of me that was missing is back. My heart forever lies with you."

"Oh Ted!" sniffed Victoire, starting to cry at the sweet words that she could tell were heartfelt.

"Don't cry, Vic," protested Teddy.

"That was so sweet," she said through her tears, embarrassed to be crying. "I can't help it, the hormones," she said in excuse. Through her watery eyes, she saw him lean over and get something off his bedside table.

"Here, don't cry, Vic, don't cry," he said wiping her eyes with a tissue. She let out a choked laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking the tissue and hoping her eyes and nose weren't too red.

"Victoire," he said after a few moments of her collecting herself.

"Hmm…" she said looking up at him. His blue eyes were looking deep into hers, searching for something, almost scared.

"Victoire, you've been one of my best friends since I was little, my playmate, my damsel in distress, my fellow mischief maker, my perfect person to prank, my secret keeper. I've loved you since I was too young to understand what love even was, and I know that you're my one and only. Simply your smile brightens my darkest days. I would do anything for you. I would die for you- my love for you makes me understand my parents' sacrifice for me in the war. You have held my heart in your hands since they were chubby little girl hands full of a bouquet of wild flowers. It's yours, forever and always, my heart is yours. Victoire Georgette Weasley, will you marry me?"

Victoire looked up at Teddy in shock. His hand was lying open, with a beautiful ring in the middle of his palm. She simply stared at him, brimming with happiness as the words sank in. "Ted," she whispered gently, tearing up as she looked into his bright blue eyes. "I don't even know what to say." She wiped her eyes and wished she had another tissue.

"Well, yes has always been a popular response," he said with slight sarcasm and a grin.

"Yes!" she laughed. "Yes! A thousand times yes!" she exclaimed wrapping her arms around him. Tucking her face into his neck, she couldn't help but want to stay in his sunny warm bed forever. She couldn't even muster embarrassment at the happy tears that were dampening his neck.

Pulling back from her embrace, he grasped her hand, sliding on the slender platinum band set with a huge diamond surrounded by two smaller sapphire stones. "I love you Victoire Weasley," he murmured into her ear as she gaped at the beautiful ring on her finger. The diamond was absolutely huge, and the sapphires were so beautifully blue, reminding her of his eyes.

"I love you too, Theodore Lupin," she replied, kissing him. "But how… where…?" she asked.

"It was Gran's. My grandpa Ted was a muggleborn, but his family was wealthy too. And when he fell in love with her and decided to propose, he thought that getting her an ostentatious, expensive ring, would help him impress her pureblooded family, showing that he wasn't poor, and that he could fit in with their pureblooded society, doing things to their standards. He thought they would accept him better. It didn't help them, but my Gran said yes. Then again, she claims she would have said yes to whatever he offered. She gave it to me a few months back. Something along the lines of, 'for when you find the right girl'. I think she's probably known it was going to you for a while now, and I've been… well I've held onto it. I was going to offer it you if you wanted it after the letter… But- in lieu of recent events… I think it suits you, and it's beautiful, just like you, and I think she would want you to have it, but only if you want it. I can get you another one, any one you like. She won't be offended, and neither will I. I just thought you might want this one… but if you…" Victoire pressed a finger to Teddy's lips.

"It's perfect," she said with a sweet smile. "I love it and I wouldn't have any other. Thank you." Teddy seemed to sigh in relief.

"I'm glad," he said putting a hand on her hip and pulling her closer to him.

"Me too," said Victoire cuddling up to him and admiring the sparkle of the ring in the early morning sunshine that was peeking through the window. It was barely six in the morning yet, but already, in her opinion, the best day of her life.

"So," she said after a long but comfortable pause. "When are we getting married? I was thinking the end of next month or the beginning of June. I always wanted to be a June Bride."

Teddy sputtered, causing her to smirk. "Wha… We… we just got engaged ten minutes ago!" he got out between coughs.

"Hmm.. good point, but I don't want to be too fat!"

"You could never be fat," he told her, rubbing her stomach and regaining his composure. "Gran will be so pleased. She adores you."

Suddenly there was a rustle of feathers and wind as an owl swooped in the open window, barely startling the two lovers. Victoire grabbed the letter which was addressed to her and the owl immediately took off, obviously not in the mood to stick around. Teddy looked at her questioningly as she quickly scanned the letter.

"It's from Ellie," she said after a second. "Wants to know what happened, every detail… not that I'll give her EVERY detail. I'm quite sure there are some things that she really DOESN'T want to know. However, she also brings up a few very good points in this letter."

"Hm… well what are they?" asked Teddy, absently running his fingers through her hair.

"For one, we need to tell everyone," she said.

"That's fine. They have to find out sooner or later if you plan on getting married in June, then it will have to be sooner rather than later… but no matter."

"We'll tell them today then."

"Today?" squeaked Teddy, thinking not of his gran, but of someone else they needed to tell.

"Mhm," murmured Victoire. "I'm usually welcome over to my parent's house for dinner any day of the week. Then we can go over to your Gran's and tell her right after. Then tomorrow is Weasley Sunday Dinner, and I think that the kids are home from Hogwarts for Easter Break."

"We're telling your dad… tonight?" asked Teddy nervously.

"Yes, the sooner the better, get it out of the way if you will. He's been pestering me as to who the father is, and after he hears the entire story, he'll understand. And as embarrassing as it will be to tell him…"

"Yeah, well… that's if I live to let him hear the entire story before he kills me!"

"Oh, Teddy!" laughed Victoire, seeing her fiancé's fear. "He won't kill you! He would never kill someone I love, especially if they were the father of my unborn children, and especially if they were you."

"There are fates worse than death," muttered Teddy, imagining everything that Bill Weasley could possibly do to him. And he was sure the Bill was much more creative than he was. He was pretty sure that he could expect Bill to react at least as bad as James, and to put it lightly, that hadn't been pleasant. And James couldn't use a wand due to having taken an unbreakable vow not to lay a wand on him. At least that was how Victoire had figured that James had gotten around the not harming him part of the deal.

"You'll be with me the entire time," comforted Victoire. "It will be fine. And then we can go tell Granny, and she'll be much easier to tell. We'll get the worst over with."

"I guess… as long as you promise to be there… I can't tell him alone. Your dad has always been a bit scary, what with those long slashes along the side of his face and his fang earring, and the long hair, and his reputation as a war hero and a curse breaker and an overall powerful wizard." Teddy visibly shuddered.

"You're such a wimp," laughed Victoire, playfulling hitting him with the letter.

"The sorting hat did seriously consider me for Ravenclaw," he joked. "So what else did Ellie bring up?"

"Ohh.. just two more things. One- that James would probably return to kick your ass a second time if he floos to my house and finds me missing. Apparently she had to deter him from coming all the way here last night when he realized that we were… okay, I won't repeat what she said or how she managed it… but anyways…" Victoire blushed recalling Elaine's words which had been… at least partially accurate… "Two, she said that I better be at work on time too. She said that there were no excuses for me to lounge about all day when she couldn't do the same."

"Hmm… well, we had better get going then," said Teddy regretfully. "We'll apparate to the flooport, and get going. It's a good thing that Egypt is a few hours time difference than England. You have plenty of time to get to work."

"Enough time to stay here a while longer?" pleaded Victoire as Teddy hopped right out of bed and started pulling on clothes. Teddy sighed regretfully and shook his head.

"Come on beautiful, get up." She shook her head playfully pulling the sheet over her head, reluctant to ruin her perfect morning with something as trivial as work, especially on a Saturday. Why did she decide to be a healer again? Teddy laughed and stole away the covers, pulling her out of the bed as she protested. "Here," he said kissing her as he handed her the clothes he had summoned from around the room.

"Fine," she pouted, pulling her blue dress over her head. "But I'm still not very happy about this. Stupid work."

"Hmm.. well, I'll go into work too if it makes you feel better."

"It will," she said, waving her wand to fix her hair a bit. "Now, do you think we could get breakfast before we head off? Maybe at the flooport if we have to? I _am_ eating for three."

"I think we could manage that," replied Teddy, offering her his arm and picking up his briefcase. "Let's go then."

* * *

"Victoire?" came a voice from the other room just seconds after the wards went off.

"In here," she called, taking a drink of orange juice and pretending to look up from the paper as James popped his head into the room.

"Are you," he paused looking around. "Alone?"

"Are you?" asked Victoire elusively. She was pretty sure she had heard two people floo in.

"Ellie's here. She figured the two of you would go into work together. Something about having a lot to talk about, but I thought to drop her off on my way into the ministry."

"You mean you wanted to check up on me," retorted Victoire.

"Err… did you know that Ellie is wearing her fuchsia colored scrubs today too?" commented James, diverting the direction of the conversation.

"No. I did not."

"Ohh… er…"

"James, be nice to Teddy. I swear to Merlin if you touch him again, I'll bloody kill you."

"I'm taking it things went well last night then?" he asked nervously.

"Yes," smiled Victoire. "You could say that."

"Anything I should know then?" he asked quietly.

"Just that you should probably make sure you're on time to Weasley Dinner tomorrow. Don't tell Ellie," replied Victoire, she had carefully strung her new ring on the same chain as her locket, not wanting to let the cat out of the bag too soon.

"Alright," said James, going so far as to glance at her ring finger openly. She smirked.

"Don't let me hear any more nonsense about you and Teddy," she scolded.

"Fine… but only so long as he's treating you right."

"James!" she laughed before becoming very serious. "Thank you," she said quietly, standing up and hugging her cousin tightly. "Thanks for finding him for me, for being there, and thank you for helping make us both come to our senses."

"No problem, Tor," he said hugging her back and kissing the top of her head.

"AWWWW!!!" came an overly loud and falsely sweet voice. "SO CUTE!" exclaimed Elaine as the glare of a flash went off.

"Ellie," laughed Victoire. "What have you been tinkering around with in there for so long?"

"Thought I'd give you two a moment," she said, setting Victoire's camera down. "Found this…"

"Anyways, I had better get off to work, love. See you tonight," said James crossing the room to kiss Elaine. "Have a good day at work, Ellie and Belly," he said addressing her and then her stomach. "Love you," he said just softly enough for Victoire to barely hear.

"Love you too James, stay safe," returned Elaine before he apparated out.

The two women in bright fuchsia scrubs and purple robes looked at each other silently for a few seconds after he left. "Teddy, it's safe to come out now," called Elaine, smirking at Victoire who visibly relaxed.

"Phew, thought he would never leave," replied Teddy, coming back to his spot at the table and picking up the cup of tea that James luckily hadn't noticed.

"Ah, that's what I used to think just about every day in school," laughed Elaine. "But here we are," she rubbed her stomach absentmindedly. "Anyways, Toire and I had better get to work, but I'm glad you two seem…. Well it seems last night went well. When James told me who Edward Knots really was… well I suspected as much... but that was only if the Very Violent Veela Victoire didn't kill you before she realized who you were."

"It came close," quipped Teddy, causing Victoire to give him an exasperated look and take a swat at his arm, which he easily avoided.

"Did not!" she protested.

"Well, I'm sure you want to interrogate Vic here, so I'll just be off to the ministry. See you tonight," said Teddy, bending down and kissing Victoire, right in front of Elaine. Somehow though, Victoire couldn't seem to mind, not really feeling very embarrassed at all. Pulling away, he looked to Elaine. "Have a good day at work Elaine, you too Vic," he said, squeezing her gently before stepping off to apparate away.

"Wait!" exclaimed Victoire, pulling him back in for another kiss. "Just needed another one to make it through the day," she giggled, this time slightly embarrassed. Teddy just smirked and kissed her again quickly.

"There, now you've got an extra one to be sure," he joked. She smiled back as he apparated away.

"Aww!" said Elaine setting down the camera again. "That's going to be such a cute picture!"

"ELAINE!" protested Victoire.

"You'll want it," she said matter of factly. "Now, let's get to work… but I want to hear all the dirty details…"

"Well… maybe not all of them," implied Victoire causing her friend to raise her eyebrows and laugh.

* * *

Meanwhile, Teddy was on his way in to the Ministry. Sweeping into the department dressed in his neat black slacks, white button up shirt, and dark black robes, as Edward Knots, he looked very intimidating. Not that Teddy Lupin wasn't intimidating.

Sweeping into the boss's office, he walked confidently up to Ms. Fornswaith's desk. "Ms. Fornswaith," he said in his most charming voice. "You are looking ever so lovely today, are those new glasses? The frame color really brings out your eyes," he said. He was so cheerful, he didn't even think this batty old woman could ruin his day for him. Besides, maybe he could cheer up her day. And if he sweetened her up, she could get him in with the boss.

"Why Meeester Knots!" she simpered swatting him away and almost blushing. "What can I daooo fo-oar you today?" she said in her goofy voice.

"Well, I was hoping to get a brief meeting in with the boss, it's quite important. If he has a free twenty minutes, that would suffice," said Teddy, leaning on her desk casually and giving her a smile.

"Well," she said pushing her large glasses up her nose. "Let me see, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh… no. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... no. ahhhhhhh… ha!" she gave him a surprisingly pretty smile, almost shocking Teddy that she had such great teeth and a pretty grin. Ewww… she was old…. Ancient… older than gran.

"Mr. Paciiino can seeeee you at thraeeeeee," she said, her squeaky voice trilling on the I's and E's in her annoying way. Despite this, Teddy grinned.

"See you at three, Ms. Fornswaith," he said tipping an imaginary hat at her and winking as he left the room. Heading down the hall, he heard her click on the radio and he grinned that he would be able to sit in his office and not have to listen to Celestina Warback songs get slaughtered every time she came on the radio. Ms. Fornswaith really was a horrible singer.

Whistling, Teddy walked down to his office. At the door, he stopped, thinking of the things that Victoire had told him last night and this morning at the flooport during their long conversations with each other where they had discussed everything that had happened recently. Swinging open the door, he walked into his office.

"Please take a seat, I'll be with you in a minute," said Mrs. Smith.

"That won't be necessary Mrs. Smith," he said, causing her to look up and startle.

"Mr. Knots!" she said rising to her feet. "I didn't realize you would be in the country today."

"Yes," he said looking at her intently. "I had unexpected business in England and Scotland today."

"Wonderful, well would you like me to get you a coffee?" she asked. "Tea?"

"No, no… but I would like to see you in my office in a few minutes. I just want to get settled first. Fifteen minutes." She sent him a questioning look and Teddy headed into his office, letting the door crash a bit loudly behind him. Hmm… now… how to prepare.

Fifteen minutes later Teddy was channeling Mr. Pacino, his desk chair facing backwards, his blinds drawn to make the room seem darker, more sinister, intimidating. His desk was devoid of all papers except a manila file… which he thought looked intimidating if it had your name written on it. There wasn't anything in it, but he had taken the time to scribble 'Smith' on it. At the last minute, he pulled out his wallet and the picture he had of Victoire in it. Grinning he stared at the wall until he heard a cautious knock.

"Come in," he called. He heard Mrs. Smith enter the room. "Close the door on your way in." It was awkward not facing her to greet her, but he thought that swiveling the chair thing was very good. He heard her settle in, and waited, wanting her to be a bit uncomfortable. Swiveling the chair around, he let his features fall into a stoic expression, revealing no emotions whatsoever. She looked nervous, twirling her hair, biting her lip.

"So," he said breaking the silence. "How were things in my absence?"

"G-good?" she replied slowly. He had thrown her off balance, exactly what he wanted.

"Hm… so nothing unusual."

"Erm… no sir, I don't believe there was anything… unusual?" Teddy frowned, drawing his eyebrows together dramatically.

"I see," he said pausing long enough to make it uncomfortable.

"Is that all?" she asked timidly.

"No, I have a few more questions." He said pausing again. She fidgeted. "Could you please tell me if you have ever seen this woman before?" he asked, pulling out another file which he had hastily put the picture of Victoire in along with some random papers. Opening it, he placed it on the desk in front of him.

"Nn…" Mrs. Smith started to say before really getting a look at her and pausing. "Why yes, I have seen her before."

"Where?" questioned Teddy.

"I… She came looking for you about a week ago. Is she a stalker or something? A crazy ex? A veela vampire who had hunted you across three continents, seeking revenge for lifting her curses? An enemy agent? A half sister who wants to kill you and retain half of your fortune? A mail order bride who wants to claim that her baby is yours? An old client who is unsatisfied with your work? An escaped or newly released criminal who you helped put behind bars?!" Teddy stared at his secretary for a moment with a dumbfounded expression.

"She's my fiancé," said Teddy with a dark look. He was completely satisfied by the terrified expression on his secretary's face.

"Your… your fiancé?" asked the woman after a prolonged silence. "Life is not a Dora Bobs novel, life is not a Dora Bobs novel," she chanted under her breath.

"Yes, we were engaged today, the reason for my return to England. Neither of us is under the pretense that I'm really Edward Knots…Just like I seriously doubt your name is Mrs. Anne Lia Smith. But she was… looking for Edward me because of… a misunderstanding… but don't get me wrong, I love the witch beyond all reasoning…"

"I see," said the woman who Teddy now suspected wasn't as stern as she looked. In fact, he imagined her as one of those dippy blond witches who read too many gossip rags, and as she herself said… too many Dora Bobs romances.

"She was obviously upset by the little encounter last week," he stated, causing her to wince. "I'm not particularly worried about it… She tends to… over react. Veela tendencies I'm sure you understand. But, nevertheless, in the future, if you would be so kind as to treat all of my guests with a little more decorum and cordiality, that would be… appreciated. And especially my soon to be wife. I'm going to be filing to have her ban from the ministry lifted, so I'm sure she'll be around here. You never know who someone might be," said Teddy.

"So…" said Anne slowly. "I'm not fired?"

"No," snorted Teddy. "Vic tends to overreact and be extremely dramatic. She has been that way since we were practically in nappies, but now especially since she's been pregnant. She's having twins you know, very delicate condition from what I've heard. Haven't been around much, but I'm planning on changing that. But, it probably wasn't all your fault anyways."

"Thank you! I just don't know what Ben and I would do, if… well… he lost his job brewing last month, and I've been trying to take care of things… he's still… and then I found out… I'm sorry, you don't need to know this!" said Anne, wiping her eyes. "It was a lot my fault… it was… a bad day."

"What is it with women and crying!?" sighed Teddy, handing her a hanky.

"Thanks," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. "I myself found out the day your fiancé came in… it's a pregnant thing." Teddy looked at her with wide eyes. "The crying thing." He nodded, understanding his secretary a lot better.

"So, erm… this was a nice little chat, congratulations on the baby Anne," he said, having dropped the intimidating boss thing. It just wasn't his thing. "Erm… I'm going to ask one more question though." Anne nodded. "You said your husband is out of work?" She nodded again. "And he was a potions brewer?"

"Oh yes, an excellent one! He worked for Peper Up Potion Products and helped develop their dissolvable drop! He's very good! They didn't fire him so much as he got laid off, too many brewers! He even had some of the best credentials! He had an O on his potions NEWT and took his masters. Potion Masters Test that is… flying colors I tell you, now my Benji, well it would press you to find a potion he couldn't brew, and he.."

"Tell him I'd like to talk to him," interrupted Teddy. "I mean, my friend would like to talk to him. Monday, Three Broomsticks, three o'clock."

"What?"

"Your 'Benji' has a job interview, tell him to be there!"

"Thank you! THANK YOU MR. KNOTS!" exclaimed Anne, crying once again. Teddy sighed, conjuring up another hanky, crying women were just his thing now.

**So, what did you think of this chapter?? I really liked it... I felt it tied up some loose ends with Anne LIA Smith. ALIAS... hahah thought that was a bit of hidden humor. I thought it made us forgive her for the way she and Victoire fought a few chapters back. Also, the proposal was fun to write. I had a hard time deciding if it would be his mum's or Andromeda's ring, but she has Tonk's necklace and I thought Andromeda's ring would be really sweet since she and Vic are so close. Anyways... Please tell me what you thought! I'll update again when I have at 340 reviews if not before. But today I checked and I had 314 and I was like!! wow.. need to update!!!! :) Hope this was a good back to school present for everyone! Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**

**Elaine**


	22. Al Pacino

**Please Review when you're done reading this chapter... It's really appriciated.**

The elderly woman looked up at a fluttering of a paper airplane falling to her desk. Unfolding it with surprisingly nimble fingers for an old woman with such gnarled looking hands, a misplaced grin graced her face. It was surprisingly delicate and bright in her wrinkled face, her teeth a bit too white and straight. Getting up with a surprising quickness, she deserted her desk and headed into the door behind her.

Throwing the door open, she looked at the man behind the desk with a wide grin, knowing that her grey hair was rapidly deteriorating. Pushing the door closed behind her, Fleur leaned back against the door, smiling at her husband who was also letting his disguise fall away, his hair turning red. Fleur grinned, clutching the letter to her chest. Bill, now fully restored to normal, gave her a funny look, trying to read what she was so excited about. Reaching over, she clicked the lock on the door shut, effectively magically locking the room.

"What's up, love?" asked Bill standing up as she sauntered over to his desk which he was hastily clearing.

"I got a letter," said Fleur in her familiar accented voice as she walked around his desk to take a seat on it.

"You get letters pretty much every day, that's a big part of your job, darling," said Bill sitting back down.

"Yes, yes," replied Fleur waving her arms wildly. "I mean a letter for us, from Victoire!"

"That too is a normal occurrence, love," said Bill running his hand through his hair, messing up the pony tail it was in.

"She's coming over for dinner. Something's up!" exclaimed an excited Fleur, blurting out the news. "She strongly hinted that she would bring someone with her. She said she was extra hungry, and that she had important news, and I think that she's bringing him."

"Him?" asked Bill, startled.

"The father," confirmed Fleur quietly. A wolfish predatorily glare burst into light inside Bill's clear blue eyes. His lip curled and he let out a low growl, clenching his fists. "Now William," said Fleur slowly.

"Fleur," he said back innocently while it was obvious that he was calculating what to do in the back of his mind.

"I want to go home early, do a bit of cleaning up, cook a good meal," said Fleur.

"I want to go home early too," agreed Bill. She gave him a speculative look.

"If you think you're going to plan some sort of torturous evening or some sort of magical punishment on the boy, you have another think coming."

"I was thinking nothing of the sort," Bill replied going a bit red in the face.

"Fine, well I'll move up your appointment with Teddy so we can get out of here early then," said Fleur, transforming back into Ms. Fornswaith with a wave of her wand. Giving one last stern look at Bill who had transformed himself back into Mr. Pacino, she headed out of the room.

"I _know_ I'm going to plan some sort of torturous evening with magical punishment for the little bastard," murmured Bill pulling open a drawer in his desk that had a book on curses and cursebreaking. He was quite familiar with the whole breaking part, now for the curses, they couldn't be that hard.

Teddy looked up from the accounts for his new business at the knock at the door. Surely, Anne didn't need anything else so soon. However, there she was. "Mr. Knots, I hate to bother you, but Ms. Fornswaith sent a note. She said that Mr. Pacino is going to see you earlier than anticipated. Could you be ready in about five minutes?"

"Of course," said Teddy, flicking his wand over the papers and sending them into his briefcase. Straightening his collar, he smoothed his hair back and headed out of his office. Heading down the hallway, he smiled to himself, so far it had been a great day. Entering Ms. Forsnwaith's office, he smiled at her.

"How are you doing? You look very cheerful this afternoon," he said happily.

"My daughter is coming over for dinner tonight," confirmed the older woman with a smile that crinkled her eyes.

"That sounds lovely, I didn't know you had a daughter," said Teddy. "In fact, I didn't realize you were married."

"There's a lot you haven't realized about me," replied Ms. Fornswaith with a mysterious smirk. Teddy gave her an odd look, but passed it off as one of the older woman's eccentrics.

"Well, can I go in?" asked Teddy gesturing toward the door.

"Of course," she said in her ridiculous accent as she turned up the wireless. Teddy hurried into the room before she started singing.

Mr. Pacino was seated behind his desk, looking frustrated and impatient, not something normal at all. "Close the door behind you," he said distractedly.

"Good afternoon sir," said Teddy taking a seat.

"Yes, yes, now you said you wanted to talk to me?" replied his boss impatiently flipping through a book on his desk.

"Sir, is this a bad time?"

"No, I'm sorry. I'll give you my undivided attention. I'm just looking for a particularly nasty curse to use on someone later," apologized Mr. Pacino nonchalantly speaking of cursing someone in a startling manner.

"Curse someone?" asked Teddy concerned at the somewhat violent look in his boss's eyes.

"I have a daughter," implied Mr. Pacino darkly. Teddy looked at the man in front of him and hoped the poor girl took after her mum, whatever she may look like. Mr. Pacino's looks didn't look like they would lend well to a daughter.

"Well my godfather's wife, one of the many women who raised me has a fairly nasty bat bogy hex, that might be a bit nicer than a curse, more suited to the situation," said Teddy trying to be helpful.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a castration curse," snarled Mr. Pacino.

"Or that," replied Teddy with wide eyes.

"So," said the intimidating figure behind the desk after an awkward pause. "What did you want to talk about, I'm all ears." He placed a bookmark in the book and looked up at Teddy.

"Well, Sir, I would like to transferred out of Egypt."

"WHAT! Why!?" asked Scarface, clearly not expecting this answer.

"Well, sir, I have several reasons. One of which being my new business endeavor and potions company. It's already been profitable with advanced orders and such. I'm very excited for this. In any case, I would like to be in England to regulate this. Also, through a serious of incidents, secrets, and misunderstandings that have just recently become clear, my life has drastically changed," stated Teddy.

"Drastically changed?" asked his boss. "I'm sure you could run your business from Egypt, and I thought you liked it there."

"Well, it is rather sudden, but not really. And well, it's embarrassing to admit all this. I feel as if this isn't something you normally have to tell your boss," said Teddy blushing slightly.

"Cut to the chase, what kind of trouble are you in?" snapped Pacino taking a drink of coffee.

"I got a girl pregnant," blurted Teddy, highly embarrassed. His hair turned red, something he hadn't lost control of for a long time. Reverting to his normal looking self, Teddy Lupin self he looked at Mr. Pacino who looked a bit startled.

"We can deal with this. The department can pay off her family, and you won't have to worry. We'll change your alias, and it will be fine. Muggle or magical? If you want we can provide a lawyer to get the baby so you can raise it, or if you want she can come to England. And there are no rules about you not being able to marry an Egyptian woman, of course she would have to be let in on the secret, severe restrictions would be placed on her and what you told her," rambled Mr. Pacino. "You aren't the first to fall for one of the locals."

"She's not local," interjected Teddy. "That's why I need to come home. She's not just any girl… woman. She's, she's the most beautiful woman, inside and out I've ever known. She's," he broke off with a dreamy look in his eyes. "Amazing. She's brilliant. She works for St. Mungo's as a healer, and obviously she'll need maternity leave, but she's great at her job. And she's just beautiful, it's hard not to be attracted to a Veela, but it's so much more than that for me. It's complicated, but I just need to be transferred back to England so that I can be with Vic and the twins, which are going to be born in August." Teddy rambled on until he ran out of breath, surprised at how easily that came out.

"Tw-Twins!?" exclaimed Mr. Pacino loudly. Teddy nodded with a smile looking up at the man.

"Mr. Pacino! Are you okay? You're turning red! Did you inhale your coffee? Your face is red! Your HAIR is turning red!" Teddy watched in horror as his boss turned bright red and his eyes started looking malicious. He shrunk back in his chair as Mr. Pacino got to his feet determinedly. "MR. WEASLEY!?" exclaimed Teddy as Bill leapt across the desk.

"YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" shouted Bill as Teddy dove and rolled to the other side of the room. "YOU KNOCKED UP MY DAUGHTER YOU BASTARD!" Bill's face was red, his eyes gleaming with anger, his hair falling from his pony tail, and the scars on the side of his face giving him a terrifyingly dangerous look. Teddy with his light brown hair too falling from his ponytail had a panicked look in his blue eyes. The two stood on opposite ends of Bill's large wooden desk and stared at each other for a second, both breathing heavily.

Teddy silently wondered if Mr. Weasley was calming down after an initial outburst. Catching his breath, he contemplated what he was going to do if he indeed wasn't calming down. The window was fake, the door would be difficult, and then there was the possibility of being chased through the entire ministry. He couldn't apparate out, a portkey would be highly illegal. Maybe if he was lucky, Bill wouldn't kill him.

"I'M GOING TO BLOODY KILL YOU LUPIN!" bellowed Bill, shooting a nasty looking curse toward Teddy, which the young man easily dodged. However, Teddy had a feeling that Bill had anticipated his move when a second spell hit him square on.

"AHG!" growled Teddy as he felt himself being attacked by his bogies. Frantically trying to avoid any other curses while he was blinded by the attack of his larger than life flapping like bat bogies, Teddy shot off a few stunning spells and a cheering charm for good measure. Maybe that would hit Mr. Weasley.

Bill easily dodged the jets of red light, and instead once again threw himself across his desk, sliding books, pictures, parchment, quills, and ink flying all over the floor. For as old as he was, Bill Weasley was still fairly fit, a side effect of having once trained to be in a war. He knocked Teddy to the ground with a thud, that hopefully his wife didn't hear.

Teddy meanwhile, was regaining his eyesight, the hex wearing off and Bill's fist coming into his line of vision. "Not again!" he moaned as he felt the first blow. Scrambling with his wand, he tried to think of something, anything, but Bill was still two steps ahead of him due to Teddy's disorientation from the bat bogey hex. Still straddling him, Bill wrenched the wand from Teddy's grasp, tossing it to the other side of the room before he went back to wrestling the father of his daughter's children for a few good punches.

Teddy tried to defend himself, but Mr. Weasley was terrifyingly fast, almost more so than James had been the night before. If only he could unpin himself, it could be a fair fight and he could defend himself. However, Bill effectively prevented Teddy from defending himself by pinning the younger man's arms to the ground with his legs. Teddy's nose was bleeding, and he knew he would have two black eyes. He could taste blood, possibly from his nose, but he had a feeling his lip was resplit. He thought there might be a gash on his forehead too.

Bill was in a rage, and there was no stopping his fiery temper that matched his hair. Not when he knew who the little arse who knocked up his daughter was, not when he could finally give the little git what he deserved.

Suddenly Teddy, desperate to be able to fight back in some way, or at least get away from Bill to calm the man down, thought of something. Wandless, defenseless, there was only one thing left to do.

Any good, and well practiced animagus could transform without a wand. And Teddy liked to think he was one of the best in that regard, having had plenty of practice with the other marauders, going so far as to transform while entirely pissed. When they say alcohol and apparition don't mix, well the same is fairly true with animagus transformations, but that never really stopped Teddy.

Nothing could have surprised William Weasley more than when the man he had pinned to the ground and was pulverizing with his fists transformed into a snarling wolf. For a moment he flashed back to a similar situation, one where he was the one pinned to the ground by the larger man, Fenrir Greyback, and was being ripped to shreds by the clawlike nails and the filed teeth.

Rocoiling in astonishment, Bill gave Teddy the opportunity he needed to escape. Sprinting to his wand, Teddy transformed back into himself and stood on the defense. However, Bill was still looking at him in shock from his place on the ground. Both men were breathing heavily, out of breath from the fight, their pants filling the silence in the room. Bill staggered to his feet, upsetting some papers as he did so, and leaned against the wall for support.

The two men looked at each other, and surprisingly found understanding in each other's eyes.

"Ted," said Bill quietly.

"I'm sorry Mr. Weasley. But I really do love her, and I'm going to take very good care of her and the babies."

"I know you will. I just want you to know… I have been sitting in my office for the past hour, no the past few months, stewing about this entire situation and cursing the man who would do this to my daughter with every fiber of my being. And now, just in the past hour, I've know I was going to come face to face with him tonight at dinner, and then, by some miracle, or disaster, of fate, there you are in front of me, confessing that it's you. And… I'm sorry I reacted so violently Ted. If anyone, I'm… I'm glad it's you."

"I, I sorta expected as much from you Mr. Weasley. I mean, I have been mentally preparing myself for tonight all day. I was planning on shamelessly using your pregnant daughter as a shield from your wrath though."

"Smart move," commented Bill. "And it's still Bill, none of this 'Mr. Weasley' nonsense."

"Alright Bill, but no hard feelings, when it's my daughter, which pretty soon I suppose it will be, I think I'm going be reacting rather the same when she brings a guy home, let alone one she wants to marry, and if she's already pregnant, well I'd rather not think about that."

"Marry?" asked Bill.

"Well, actually sir," said Teddy clearing his throat nervously. "This gives me an excellent opportunity then. May I have permission to marry your daughter?"

"Which one?" replied Bill with a smirk. The two men, who had been fighting tooth and nail moments ago laughed.

"I must tell you, I've already asked Victoire, and she's said yes, so Dominique may be disappointed if she was expecting a proposal."

"Ahh, so she's already said yes, and now you're asking my permission?" joked Bill, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't mean to let it slip out, but it sorta did, and well, I didn't want to take the words back even if I could. I mean it when I say I want to marry Vic, and I'm going to take care of her. Like I was telling you as my boss, I need to be there for her, I want to support her, and be with her and the babies."

"I know you'll do a good job Lupin. I've known you since you were a baby, and I know what kind of man you are. But, don't get me wrong, you still ruined my daughter. However, right now, I think you've had enough. Your request for reassignment in England has been granted, you will receive further information about your new post within the next few weeks. I'll see you at dinner, and I'll want to hear about this 'misunderstanding' then. In the meantime, get cleaned up, and let's sneak you out of here before anyone sees you."

"Thanks," said Teddy, wincing as Bill cast a spell to heal his freshly broken nose. He cast a cleaning charm on his and Bill's clothes to get out the blood and ink which had been spilled on them. Lastly, he cast a quick cleaning charm on the mess they had made of the room itself, Bill's desk particularly had suffered the brunt of the damage.

"I can't do much for the buising, but the blood's gone, and your nose is reset. Sorry about the lip too, can't do much for that or the cut on your forehead."

"Between you and James, you could say I got what was coming to me. I'll get it sorted out. My gran didn't work in St. Mungo's for thirty years for nothing."

"Maybe don't let Victoire see you," said Bill wincing as he took a good look at him.

"She cleaned me up after last night with James, who by the way, has a mean left hook."

"Good to hear he's taking care of his own. And it's good to hear that she would clean you up. That must mean she's not too angry with you."

"She also managed to add to the damage, so she felt bad."

"Hmm… may I ask? I didn't know you had your father's… powers…" said Bill, finally a bit over the shock.

"I errr… don't," said Teddy turning a bit red and looking more nervous than before.

"How did you… turn into a wolf? Surely that's not a metamorphmagus trait."

"I… I'm an illegal animagus, Sir," replied Teddy in defeat. He should have known Bill would ask him about it.

"That's a difficult piece of magic to master," replied his fiancé's father.

"I learned it fifth year," replied Teddy. "I could register, but I like that not many know of the ability."

"It's most likely been useful in Egypt," said Bill.

"Yes, it has," said Teddy. Bill looked thoughtful for a minute but didn't say anything. "So does this mean I should expect a summons from the ministry or an Auror on my doorstep, ready to cart me off to Azkaban?"

"I suppose this means that your friends are also unregistered Animagi?" questioned Bill. "James, Orion, Murphy?" Teddy blanched, unsure of how to answer yet knowing his face revealed himself. "The secret is safe with me, but it's just interesting. Your transfiguration grades were rather good." Teddy nodded dumbly, just happy that he hadn't gotten his friends in trouble. "Hopefully the children take after you in that regard, Victoire wasn't particularly good or bad at Transfiguration."

"Yes, well," said Teddy, rather uncomfortable at this point. "I think I can manage a couple spells to make me look like Edward Knots for a few minutes, my morphing is off. However, if I hurry out, I can make it out of the ministry and be on my way to see a healer."

"Just do me a favor," said Bill casting charms to disguise Teddy. "Don't go to Victoire."

"I was thinking more along the lines of Elaine."

"Alright," said Bill tapping his wand to his desk twice. "Ms. Fornswaith, could you get me a cup of coffee from the break room please?" he said in the intercom system that he had set up with his secretary.

"Of course, Mr. Pacino," came the secretary's voice before Bill tapped the desk again to end the conversation.

"You have about ten minutes to get out of the ministry unnoticed," said Bill casting a disillusionment charm on the young man, barely catching a glimpse of a grateful smile before Teddy disappeared.

"Thanks Mr. Weasley."

"You're really going to have to start calling me Bill."

Bill sank into his desk, flicking his wand casually to clean up any mess from the spat. As the last stack of papers was filing itself on his desk, Fleur walked in, dropping the look of Ms. Fornswaith when she saw Teddy wasn't there.

"Where did Teddy go?" she asked.

"Home," replied Bill shortly. "We can go soon too."

"Oh good, I vant to clean the house up a bit!" she said setting down the cup of coffee next to his old cup. Suddenly she looked down at him suspiciously. "Vhy did you vant coffee eef you already 'ad zum?!" she exclaimed impatiently. "I'm not your elf!"

"Well, I wanted a hot cup before I went home," lied Bill smoothly, taking a sip of the hot coffee appriciatefly. "This one was cold."

"Can we at least leave soon then?" asked Fluer, her accent becoming less pronounced the calmer she became.

"Yes, yes, we can leave now," said Bill getting his briefcase and cloak.

"Hmph!" snorted Fluer looking annoyed. "Twenty years of marriage! Eet's about time you learned a warming charm!"

**So, I'm not entirely sure I loved this chapter, but I thought the confrontation was significant on a number of levels. Please tell me what you thought before you go on to the next chapter.**

**Elaine**


	23. Look Who's Coming to Dinner

**For once it wasn't ages untill an update. I told you that football season's end would signify more updates! I'm really proud of myself for updating so soon, so please do enjoy this chapter and tell me what you thought! **

Teddy fidgeted nervously as Victoire fixed his tie. Victoire was once again wearing the blue dress that she had worn the night before, and had dressed him in his best set of dark blue dress robes, a button up shirt and tie, and black pants underneath.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to a bloody wedding?" he asked.

"Oh hush!" she chastised him, fussing with his hair.

"We don't have to be there for hours, I don't know why you came home from work so early and insisted we immediately get ready. Look, it's barely 3:00, not even tea time, let alone dinner time!" he pouted. He had never been one to dress up, and Vic of all people knew this.

"You're right, it isn't even tea time," said Victoire, absentmindedly dashing around the small kitchen, leaning over digging in the icebox for something, she gave Teddy a nice view of her arse.

"You know, we might have time to get out of these wretched dress robes and back into them," he smirked suggestively as she pulled a cheese cake out. Victoire gave him an exasperated look and raised an eyebrow.

"I was thinking we could make a short detour on the way to my parents house," she said pulling him to the fireplace and putting a protective charm on the cake.

"How about a detour to your bedroom instead?" he joked causing her to frown at him.

It was his turn to raise a questioning eyebrow as she tossed in some floo powder and pushed him in. He couldn't even make out what she said before he felt a rushing noise consume him, and he was flipping through the floo network.

"OOMPH!" he exclaimed, landing on his arse. He needed warning before being sent through the floo. Looking around he was a bit confused as to why he was there. Not that the Leaky Cauldron wasn't great, but he didn't really understand the purpose of going there. He stood and dusted himself off, still a bit bewildered and receiving strange looks.

"Come along," said Victoire stepping gracefully out of the fireplace and grabbing his hand. He frowned and followed her out the front door into muggle London. They walked briskly through the moderately crowded streets and it didn't take long for Teddy to realize where they were headed.

"No, no, no, no!" he said trying to pull back.

"Theodore!" exclaimed Victoire dragging him along.

"No!" exclaimed a terrified Teddy.

"Honestly, this isn't even going to be half as bad as telling my dad."

"But your dad will just be angry. Gran is going to be disappointed!" protested Teddy as they arrived in front of the large, aristocratic, central London home of one Andromeda Tonks.

"You know what, I have a feeling she's going to be ecstatic!" said Victoire ringing the bell.

"Bloody hell, I can't do this!" exclaimed Teddy ducking behind Victoire. "I've already been cursed too many times in the last twenty four hours! Gran has a mean streak like any good Black when the mood strikes her!"

Victoire was about to protest when the door swung open to reveal the smiling face of the aging beauty, Andromeda Tonks. Her mahogany hair had long been streaked with grey to match her classic Black family eyes, now lined with laugh and worry lines from the raising of several troublemakers. "Victoire! It isn't Thursday! What a pleasant surprise! And just in time for tea! Whatever are you doing here my dear?"

"I thought I would bring a few little surprises," said Victoire holding up the cake with a smile.

"Ohh, my favorite! I do love a good dessert!" smiled Andromeda gesturing for Victoire to come inside.

"I brought your other favorite too," said Victoire stepping aside to reveal a much shorter Teddy Lupin who had morphed himself shorter to hide behind her.

"TEDDY!" exclaimed his Grandmother as he winced and restored himself to his natural height of six four. "OH MY TEDDY!" she exclaimed enveloping him in a grandmotherly hug right there on her doorstep. Pulling the two into her house, she practically dragged them into the parlor where indeed, as in any good pureblood home, tea was always served at 3:30. Some things from her upbringing had never truly left Andromeda Tonks, this being one of them.

"Sit, sit, sit!" exclaimed Andromeda, especially directing Victoire, whose belly had been dutifully rubbed on the way inside. The young couple took a seat on the sofa as Andromeda sat herself into her favorite armchair and directed her wand toward the steaming tea kettle, magically serving the tea for herself and her guests.

"So, what a wonderful surprise!" proclaimed Andromeda after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Yup," muttered Teddy. "We're just full of surprises today."

"So, I'm going to assume that you two had a reason for coming here today," said Andromeda with a wry smile as silence once again intruded on the setting. "Any interesting news for me?" she asked expectantly. The two guests looked at each other, wondering what she knew.

"Well," said Teddy, mustering as much of the bravery he had inherited from his parents that he could. "Victoire and I have decided to get married." He looked at his grandmother tensely, carefully observing her face for signs of violence.

"FINALLY!" she exclaimed getting to her feet and engulfing the two in a giant hug. "OHHH!!!!!" she exclaimed doing a little, very undignified, and very uncharacteristic of her, happy dance. "HA! TAKE THAT MOLLY!" she exclaimed. "I bet her fifty galleons and my autographed Celestina Warbeck record collection that you two would straighten things out before the end of the summer!"

"WHAT?" exclaimed Victoire and Teddy together.

"Well, she didn't have as much faith in a confrontation before the twins were born. She thought it would take a bit longer, considering that at least one of the two should be a metamorphmagus, after the twins were born was when she placed her bet!"

"WHAT!?" the two said again.

"You honestly didn't think that we didn't realize what was happening?" asked Andromeda to the two shocked children. "You aren't that sneaky, but I, as well as Molly, sure have been wondering how this has happened."

"How, how did you know?" stammered Victoire.

"Molly and I both posses quite extraordinary clocks," commented Andromeda absently. "I've always kept mine in a less obvious place than dear Molly keeps hers. However, we both couldn't help but both notice two new little hands developing. Molly actually has three, but never the less. Not that anyone besides us, who both pay attention to our clocks more than others, would notice. But, Molly's hands were explained when you announced your pregnancy. She had perhaps thought Audrey was having a set. My hands were explained about the same time. It doesn't help that every time you come visit, the two little hands seem to arrive at traveling, also, they spend a lot of time at the hospital. Molly and I even compared the things, they seemed to agree, and it made sense." Andromeda babbled on as Teddy and Victoire stared at her, mouths agape. "So, however did you two get into this delicate situation? I mean, I've seen it coming for years, but not like this?" Teddy and Victoire looked at each other, still shocked. "Dearies, it's about time you realized that grandmothers know everything."

"James' wedding," mumbled Teddy.

"Firewiskey!" piped up Victoire. "Still can't remember the second half of that evening."

"Morphed, gave my fake identity the next morning," said Teddy flushing.

"Found out I was having a stranger's baby, then babies."

"With the due date earlier because of the twins, mathematically, I thought…"

"Didn't think they were his, big prat!"

"Obsessed with my work."

"Wanted to find him."

"Avoided her."

"Enlisted James' help."

"Found him last night."

"And we worked everything out."

"And now we're getting married."

Andromeda frowned. "I'm sure you could have made that story a bit more interesting. The way you two spell it out, it sounds positively droll, not to mention grammatically incomplete. Next time I hear it, I would like the juicy details. Proceed to tell me exactly what happened this time, from the top." Victoire sighed into her cup of tea, flushing a bright Weasley red.

"Well, when Ellie's wedding rolled around, I had already been the bridesmaid in five weddings, and that morning, I got a letter from my cousin asking me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, something which depressed me quite a bit, considering I didn't even have a date to Ellie's wedding…."

About an hour and a half later, Teddy was just finishing up the story. Andromeda sighed. "How romantic." The two looked at each other with slight smiles as Teddy squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Well, it didn't quite seem so at the time," joked Teddy, referring to the emotional ordeals each of them had been through since everything had started back in December.

"Well I've been waiting on you two to get together for years!" laughed Andromeda wiping away some sentimental tears. "I'm just so happy that I'm going to finally have you for my granddaughter!" She hugged Victoire.

"You have always been my Granny Tonks," laughed Victoire. "Even if we weren't really related."

"Yes, yes… well I'm so happy for you two! But it's nearly time for you to go if you want to make it to your parent's house in time for dinner. But thank you for coming here first," said Andromeda hugging them both and practically dragging them to the door. "Here's a portkey to Shell Cottage, thank me later for thinking so nicely ahead for you," laughed Andromeda hugging them one last time. "I'll see you both tomorrow at Molly's!"

Fleur was in a tizzy. She had cleaned every speck of dust from every surface in the house, something she was sure she hadn't done the entire time they had lived in the Shell Cottage, unless of course Molly was coming over, or her mother. Otherwise, dust was allowed to collect a bit. She had cooked a full three course French feast of Victoire's favorite French dishes combined with some more extravagant entrées. The entire dinner was laid out in the formal dining room which the Weasley family almost never used, once again the exceptions being when French relatives visited. She had sent Louis and Dominique to George and Angelina's for the evening, promising to pick them up when the dinner was over. They were dying Easter Eggs to take to Molly's anyways.

Fleur had changed out of her usual attire for nights like these and donned her favorite midnight blue dress robes covered in silver stars and lace. She had swept her silvery blond hair back into an artistic updo and pinned it meticulously with the jeweled pins that Bill had given her for her birthday.

"BILL!" exclaimed Fleur in frustration. All he had been bothered to do since he got home was sit in the family room listening to the stupid quidditch game on the stupid wireless. "GET DRESSED!? Don't you vant to vear zomzing ozer zan your work robes?!" she exclaimed, her accent thickening in her stressed state. "I 'ave been cooking and cleaning and you 'ave just sat 'ere!"

"Fleur, darling, you've already taken care of everything, and what's wrong with these? You picked them out this morning, and I'm just trying to save you on laundry. Besides, they were formal enough for the last big dinner with your parents."

"URG!" the veela huffed frustratedly throwing her manicured hands into the air. Rushing, she lit the candles on the table and put the finishing touches on the desserts. Suddenly the wards went off as a slight buzzing through the house. "BILL! THEY'RE 'ERE!" she exclaimed nervously.

"So they are," said Bill who had turned off the game as the cannons were losing monumentally. Instead he had turned to the paper which he seemed to take great interest in. Fleur stood in their cozy family room watching as he read the paper. Apparently Victoire and her man had reached the door as a loud knocking sounded through the house. Bill's eyes didn't stray from the paper.

"Aren't you going to get zee door!" demanded Fleur putting her hands on her hips. Bill looked up wide eyed as if he didn't realize what a tizzy she was in and that their daughter and some boy were outside waiting for them to answer the door.

"You can get it," said Bill indifferently turning back to his paper.

"BILL!" choked Fleur.

"What's wrong? You're the one who's so excited," said Bill.

"What eef 'e doesn't like me?" asked Fleur quietly and fiddling with her hair and robes.

"Oh stop fishing for compliments darling," laughed Bill loudly. "I have a feeling he'll like you very much and no matter what you do tonight won't change his opinion of you. In fact, I have a feeling he probably already loves you."

"Why vould you zink zat?" asked Fleur.

"Oh, you know, since he likes Victoire, it's not much of a stretch to like you too. I'm sure Vic's told him plenty about you too. Anyways, I just have a feeling about these things."

"Are you sure you don't want to get zee door?" asked Fleur, frowning as he turned back to his paper, seemingly answering her question. "Fine," she mumbled heading to the door somewhat irritatedly as she heard a knocking once again.

Plastering a grin on her face, Fleur swung the door open. "Victoire, darling!" exclaimed Fleur happily seeing how nicely her daughter was dressed and glad she had dressed up too. The light blue fabric was very pretty, and the slight bump of her daughter's stomach was visible but enhanced the beauty of her daughter's appearance.

"Mama!" laughed Victoire hugging her mother and kissing her on each cheek.

"And your guest?" asked Fleur, looking beyond Victoire at the figure in the shadows.

"Mrs. Weasley!" grinned the figure stepping into the lamplight and revealing himself as Teddy Lupin.

"Teddy?" said Fleur, somewhat disappointed, but hiding it behind her surprise.

"Yup, all the way back from Egypt!" exclaimed Victoire.

"So, who is at the door?" called Bill from the other room.

"It's just Teddy," replied Fleur letting the couple into the house. Bill hid his laugh with a cough as he entered the entry hall to see his daughter and her long time friend and recent… though he rued the word… lover.

"Theodore," nodded Bill in acknowledgement toward Teddy who nodded in response.

"Well, I made dinner, wouldn't want it to go to waste," said a dejected Fleur who was doing her best to hide it.

"Mama!" exclaimed Victoire over seeing the dining room. "Cest magnifique! What had you in such a cooking mood!? All my favorites too!"

"I was just bored this afternoon," commented Fleur dryly, looking at Bill suspiciously as he had another coughing fit.

"I can see you had a little cleaning spree too, Mrs. Weasley," laughed Teddy noticing how clean everything was. "It's like when your sister came when we were eight! I still remember the scolding you gave us when we tracked in all that mud from outside twenty minutes before she was due to arrive!"

"Oh yes! And then Tanta Gabriella still complained about everything!" laughed Victoire sitting down at the table as Teddy pulled a chair out for her.

"Your aunt is never happy about anything," grumbled Fleur good naturedly as Bill raised an eyebrow towards her but remained silent.

"So Teddy, how is the potions business coming?" asked Fleur deciding to make the best of this dinner, even if it wasn't the one she had wanted. Her opener question for the father of Victoire's twins had been to ask him what he did for a living, but she might as well ask how he was doing.

Dinner progressed fairly well, Teddy telling her how he had decided to transfer out of Egypt so that he could better manage his business. Fleur had shot a significant look at Bill, asking him silently why he hadn't keyed her into this important piece of information. Victoire had mentioned how her job was doing, and both had brought up the Weasley family Easter the next day.

"So, Teddy, it's been ages since I saw you around here," said Fleur as they were starting dessert. "What did you and Victoire fight about this time," she joked. It was common knowledge that while the two along with James had been inseparable when they were younger, they had also had their fair share of petty fights. These fights were usually the result of Victoire feeling slighted by her male friends for being a girl.

"Well actually, Mrs. Weasley, Vic and I did have a bit of a misunderstanding," said Teddy looking at Victoire for reassurance.

"Mama, Daddy, I have something I wanted to tell you," said Victoire nervously. "It's about the father of my babies," she said. Fleur's ears perked up as her attention was fully riveted on the conversation. "I had a bit too much to drink at James' and Elaine's wedding. I was feeling sorry for myself since I had been in so many weddings for all my Hogwarts friends, and cousin Trice sent me a letter that morning asking me to be in hers. It was stupid, I know that, and it didn't help I was nervous for that speech! But anyways, I woke up the next morning with a total stranger next to me." Victoire chose this moment in the story to glare at Teddy. "And he left, and I didn't think much of it, until… well until I realized I was pregnant. And I had no intentions of telling him until I realized that my babies deserved a father. And so I went to the ministry, he had given me his card, and tried to talk to him last week. However, I have been banned from the ministry until that gets… settled. He wasn't there. So… rather, James helped me find him." Victoire paused, looking to Teddy, not knowing how to continue.

"And she ended up at my apartment last night, not realizing that I erm…. Actually… Mr. Weasley… this is um…. Well… I had morphed that morning, in panic, and so… errr… I lied to her about my name being Edward Knots and working for the ministry and stuff, but… to make things short, I'm the father of Victoire's children, and we couldn't be happier, and we're getting married," rushed Teddy.

"WHAT!?" screeched Fleur, and Bill burst out laughing. Victoire looked like she was going to cry into her chocolate dessert. This was clearly not the reaction she had been expecting. Teddy flinched, looking uneasily at Fleur.

"I was afraid to lose the friendship of the only girl I've ever loved when I woke up to her the morning after what was obviously a drunken mistake, and so I lied and told her I was someone else. It was cowardly, and stupid, and then when she was having twins, the due date wasn't right for me to think it was mine, and I'm dumb. Otherwise, I swear I would have gone to her myself and taken responsibility for everything," rushed Teddy looking nervously at Fleur while most of Victoire's nervous energy was focused on her oddly taciturn father. There was an extended awkward silence where Fleur looked like she could possibly get violent.

"Daddy?" asked a terrified Victoire, causing Bill to stop watching Fleur's reaction so intently so that he could react too.

"Ohh… errr… Congratulations!" said Bill plastering a smile on his face. Victoire looked at her father dumbfounded. Fleur burst out into sobs, loud, hysterical sobs.

"Fleur darling!" exclaimed Bill hopping to his feet and going to his distressed wife. "Darling, darling, darling, what's wrong?" He patted her awkwardly on the back as she cried into his shoulder and Teddy and Victoire watched stunned.

"I'm just zo 'appy!" sobbed Fleur.

"What?" asked Bill, confused.

"Teddy eez zee perfect boy for Victoire, and she 'as loved 'im since zey were children. 'e will take good care of 'er, and zey love each ozer. I am zo 'appy eet eez 'im!" she replied, smiling as much as she could through her tears. "I am relieved too."

"Oh…." said Bill, stunned. Victoire and Teddy were also quite shocked.

"Well, mum, we're going to get going, so you can err…. Get a good night's rest," said Victoire gathering herself and deciding she wanted to get away before her dad had a chance to react.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley, I'll see you tomorrow, you too, Bill," said Teddy. "But Vic needs her rest and this has been a long day. Thank you for the wonderful dinner." He ushered Victoire out who was still confused but also alarmed at the reaction of her mother.

Fleur continued her happy crying for a few more minutes after they left, snuggling into Bill's lap and allowing him to carry her into their family room to the more comfortable chair. Bill was just relaxing, enjoying the wonderful scent of his wife's perfume and the feel of her in his arms, warm and wearing quite the alluring dress robes. Running his fingers through her hair contentedly, he was shocked as she suddenly pushed herself out of his lap, a look of rage on her face.

"YOU KNEW!" she yelled pointing a delicate manicured finger at her guilty looking husband. "YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!" she said as Bill slowly stood up and began backing away. "THAT'S WHY YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GET UP AND GET THE DOOR! THAT'S WHY YOUR REACTION WAS SO TAME! YOU CON! TA GUEULE! CA ME FAIT CHIER! NIQUE TA MERE!"

Seeing that Fleur was now spouting some of her angriest French, she only ever said things like that about his mother when she was royally ticked, Bill bolted, and timely too. "WILLIAM WEASLEY! I'M GOING TO… BLOODY KILL YOU!!!" she shrieked throwing a ball of fired from a Veela clawed hand as he laughed and ran. She only used English swear words when she ran out of choice French ones.

"MUM!" shrieked Dominique from the fireplace, obviously having just arrived in the floo from George's. Bill, surprised at seeing his brother and younger children in the fireplace, paused in his running away from his angry part-veela wife long enough to catch a fireball in the chest which unlike the other ones that had missed their target and had disappeared before destroying anything burst into flames.

"BILL!" screamed Fleur, realizing she had actually hit him. "You are supposed to dodge zoze! Stupid!" she cooed putting out the flames as Bill looked at his destroyed work robes.

"Remind me not to piss Fleur off," laughed George earning glares from Bill and Fleur before he apparated away with a pop.

"Obviously this evening isn't going to end like I was hoping it would," muttered Bill under his breath. Fleur shot him a look and he raised his eyebrows.

"What was that about!" demanded Dominique while poor Louis still stood silently stunned.

"Go to bed," commanded Fleur. "You'll find out tomorrow I'm sure."

"Whatever," snapped Dominique.

"Mum, that was freaky as hell, I'm so glad I didn't inherit that particular trait!" Louis finally managed before trooping upstairs to his room.

"I'm zo zorry Bill," muttered Fleur wrapping her arms around Bill's neck and placing kisses on his face. "My stupid veela temper, eet just gets zee best of me zometimes."

"Well I guess it's a good thing you never managed to convince me to wear those bloody dress robes, huh?" he said with a smirk.

"Are you 'urt or was it just your robes?" she asked worriedly looking at the scorch marks and burnt material. "Did I burn you?"

"Well, could you perhaps check for me? I'm still in shock and can't really tell," replied Bill pulling her close to him. He loved it when Fleur got angry, it was incredibly sexy, and she always made up for it so sweetly later. Sometimes he did things deliberately, just to 'piss Fleur off' as George had so delicately put it. Personally Bill preferred that George never was on the receiving end of Fleur's temper. It was reserved for him.

**Hope you liked it, tell me what you think. I didn't get my old review quota, but that's just the number of reviews I have to have to HAVE to update. So, I didn't necessarily HAVE to update this time, I just wanted to. So, quota is going to remain the same. 400 reviews and I'll Update right away!!! Promise it will be ASAP. I have finals next week, and this week is "dead" week. So idk how much I'll write until after my finals get over on Tuesday (yeah for not having a saturday final!!). In any case, I'm then off for an entire month! I'm hoping to finish this story up by the time I return to school for next semester. Hopefully then I can focus on my other in progress stories, which you might want to check out if you haven't already. Once again, please tell me what you thought or whatever in a review.**

**Thanks!**

**Ellie**


	24. Look What Came to Lunch

**Please read Author's not at END of chapter :) Enjoy...**

Elaine Lovy Tamora Dridel Potter awoke to several quite unpleasant things. Firstly, her husband was calling her- quite rudely if she did say so herself, from the bathroom, in a bloody loud and obnoxious voice, best reserved for the quidditch pitch and the scolding of disobedient children. Secondly, her child, or the ultimate parasite, was using her bladder as a trampoline. And third, looking down at her stomach, the current habitat of said parasite, it was quite obvious that she was fat. Not fat as in, glowingly pregnant, but fat as in, what the hell have you been eating for the past five years that has led you to this current state of obesity?

"Ellie!" called James again from the bathroom.

"WHAT!" snapped his wife's voice from the other side of the door. He winced. Apparently she was not in a very good mood today. He had gotten up early, asked her if she was interested in some breakfast. No, she was not, so he had gone downstairs and gotten some food for himself, returned to their bedroom to find her still asleep. Getting out of the shower, it was nearly ten thirty, and he figured she probably wanted to get up soon, hence having yelled from the bathroom and being snapped at. Trying to figure out where he went wrong was not really an option.

"I was erm…. Wondering if you were interested in getting ready for Sunday dinner anytime soon," he said, stepping fearfully out of the bathroom as he toweled his hair dry.

"Ack, I'm tired today! Work was killer yesterday, and you know how loud it's going to be, and I just, could you go to lunch without me?" she said trying to hide her irritation with the world. She should be nice to James. He got her chocolate covered pickled pigsfeet the other night. Merlin, that had hit the spot. Then again, he was the ruddy sod who had gotten her like this in the first place.

"Come on Elles, we know that you aren't that tired. In fact, when you're tired, your eyes turn this hazy gray color, and you are bright blue energized eyes this morning. Are you sure you don't want to go to Sunday Dinner, and what's the real reason you don't want to come?"

"It's freaky you know that…"

"It's my job, I'm your husband. Now are you sure you don't want to go?"

"Yes, I'm much too fat to go anywhere!" complained Elaine. James looked at her skeptically wondering if she was this insecure at about five months, how bad was she going to be at seven or eight?

"Really Ellie, you're not fat, you look exactly the same as the day I married you, except now you're blossoming with our son," assured James, crossing the room and leaning down to kiss her and then her belly, which in all honesty wasn't even that big yet.

"Lines like that don't work on me, Potter! You should know that by now! And how do you know we aren't having a girl!" James winced at the usage of his last name. That was never a very good sign. He wasn't sure if he needed to reason with her or let her go off on her ridiculous tangents.

"Because the Healer told us we're having a boy…" he said, opting for reason.

"Oh yeah…" whispered Elaine before throwing a pillow over her face. "I just…. I don't even have a real reason not to go…" she whimpered before starting to cry. Fourth reason why today was horrible. Her hormones were making her overly emotional! James sat down on the bed, running soothing circles with his magical hands along her back. NO! Stop thinking that. This is how she had ended up in this situation in the first place.

"Well, how about I give you a reason _to_ go?" suggested James with a wry grin, causing Elaine to peep out from below the pillow at the tone of his voice. She cocked an eyebrow expectantly. "What if I told you that Victoire and Teddy were coming."

"I figured that, considering Teddy is in town, and Victoire always comes," scoffed Elaine rolling her now red rimmed eyes.

"But what if I told you that they would be staring in a presentation you wouldn't want to miss?" smirked James.

"NO!" exclaimed Elaine shooting off the bed and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Her reasons to stay in bed entirely forgotten. James laid back on the bed and smiled contentedly.

* * *

Victoire awoke in a rather opposite mood. Firstly, Teddy was lying next to her, arms wrapped around her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear while he placed delicious little kisses on the back of her neck and his breath tickled her ear. She could get used to waking up like this. Secondly, she had had the most wonderful dream last night about a little brown haired boy and a little blond haired girl who had been absolutely adorable. Hopefully her and Teddy's little ones would be that darling, only she figured she could assume that they wouldn't be that sweet, if they took after Teddy at all, they would be mischievous as hell. But she would still love them, she moved her hand subconsciously to rub the general area of her stomach, which seemed to be growing in the most fascinating manner every day.

"Vic?" said Teddy.

"What?" she whispered back.

"I was just wondering if you were up and when you wanted to start the day?" he said placing a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Mmm… it's just so nice, I don't want to get up yet," sighed Victoire.

"What if I made you breakfast?"

"That sounds like a decent reason to get out of bed, I'll take my shower while you make me some pancakes," grinned Victoire turning around to face her fiancé and giving him a quick kiss before slipping out of bed quickly. Teddy frowned.

"You didn't say anything about pancakes!" he protested as she flounced off to the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, after a quick shower and a drying spell to her hair, Victoire sauntered into the kitchen of her flat, smiling at the sight of Teddy trying to flip a pancake unsuccessfully and nearly dumping it out of the pan.

"Let me, Ted," she said stepping up and taking the spatula from his hands. "Why don't you go take a shower, and I'll get breakfast ready?"

"Alright, then we can talk about Sunday Dinner, and how we are going to tell the family while we eat," said Teddy. Victoire's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she flipped a pancake so hard that it flew out of the pan and over her shoulder making a splat on the opposite wall.

"WHAT!" she said, obviously thrown by his comment.

"How we are going to tell the Weasley-Potter clan that we're getting married and I'm the father of the twins," said Teddy, wondering what she was playing at, or if she had simply forgot this unpleasant detail on today's schedule.

"Bollocks! I forgot," she said looking upset. "Do we have to go? I've decided I'm feeling rather ill, I think my morning sickness is coming back, or perhaps I have a mild case of the Puking Pixie!"

"Vic, we aren't getting out of this, besides, sooner rather than later will be better. By this afternoon you'll be wrapped up in wedding plans," Teddy said with a roll of his eyes, trying to hide his own terror, which he thought was reasonably worse. _HE_ was the one who had to face all _five_ of Victoire's Uncles, which did include Harry Potter, Head Auror, Ron Weasley, Deputy Head of the Auror Department, George Weasley, inventor of some of the most malicious yet funny joke products ever produced, Charlie Weasley, Dragon tamer, and if that wasn't enough, let's throw in the Minister of Magic himself, Percival Weasley. But as bad as all five of Victoire's uncles promised to be, the worst was yet to come, because these strong, brilliant men had to inherit their larger than life personalities from somewhere, and that somewhere went by the name of Molly Weasley. Enough said.

* * *

"How did you convince me to come?" demanded Victoire nervously as they landed outside the gate to the orchard.

"I convinced you we could turn it into the biggest joke since your Uncle George running for Minister of Magic. To this day I wonder how much he spent on that campaign. And his ideas for "reforming the ministry!" That was his best prank ever if I do say so. Half of wizarding Britain thought he was serious!"

"I doubt our little show today will be quite as epic as a six month long prank that fooled over half of the wizarding world and went down in the books as one of, if the THE, best practical jokes in wizarding history."

"It was good for business though wasn't it?"

"He considered it an advertizing campaign, rather than a political one."

"Well, shall we?" And the two walked arm and arm to the front door of the burrow.

"Victoire!" exclaimed a young Lily Potter throwing open the door with a wide grin at the site of her cousin walking up the drive. "Wow! You're getting so…. pregnant! You still look simply stunning, but ohh, I miss seeing you at school and then when I do see you, you're already so much farther along than I suspected!" she shrieked, wondering over Victoire's belly, and giving her a giant hug. "Oh!" she said giving Teddy a startled look. "I'm sorry, I'm Lily Potter," she said introducing herself. "And you are?"

"Edward Knots," said Teddy with a toothy grin. Lily took an involuntary step backwards.

"Nice to er… meet you Mr. Knots," she said as the man leered at her. "Are you a friend of Victoire's from work?"

"Actually, no," said Teddy as they walked into the burrow and shed their cloaks. "I'm her fiancé."

Albus and Ron who had just walked into the entry both visibly blanched, and Lily didn't seem to notice any pain as she shut her hand rather harshly in the door. "What?" said Albus abruptly.

"I'm Victoire's fiancé," said Teddy wrapping his arm around Victoire and patting her belly.

"But you're so…." Lily paused realizing she was being rude, and there was no tactful way to finish her sentence. Albus and Uncle Ron however took it upon themselves to finish it for her.

"Old…" supplied Uncle Ron with a frown.

"Ugly," a shell shocked Albus filled in at the same time.

Lily gave them a look of horror as Victoire and Teddy pretended to look offended. "Err…" they both said, once again in near unison. "We've got to…. Go…" stuttered Uncle Ron.

"We're looking for this ugly old… gnome…. That err… escaped while we were… degnoming the garden," lied Albus before practically running away, dragging a bright red Uncle Ron after him. Lily turned to Victoire and her guest, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Albus really was a rather good liar on his feet, even if the excuse had been taken from the fact that Edward Knots looked decidedly like an especially hideous garden gnome.

"Um… I think I heard my mum call for me… I really had better go see what she wants."

Teddy and Victoire, now alone in the entry looked at each other. Teddy smiled. Thus far the plan was working wonderfully, Uncle Ron and Albus had been too shocked to do anything other than gape at him, and Lily had obviously been horrified at the thought of him marrying her cousin. Everything was sure to fall into place.

"Who are you?" demanded a small voice suddenly. Teddy and Victoire looked down. It was Alexander, Uncle Charlie's eldest boy.

"I'm Edward Knots, and I'm going to be marrying Victoire here," said Teddy with what he hoped was a non frightening look as two more of Charlie's sons came over, the five year old twins Arthur and Andrew.

"Are you related to Uncle Harry's house elf Kreature?" asked one of them. A bark of laughter was heard from the parlor where Uncles George and Charlie could be seen in the doorway looking both amused and horrified.

"ARTHUR FORGE WEASLEY!" exclaimed Alicia, their mother, rounding the corner.

"Mum! I'm Andy!" said the boy sticking out his lower lip in a pout.

"Sorry then. ANDREW GRED WEASLEY!"

"Just kiddin' mum, I am Arthur," said the boy with a saucy grin as he and his twin made a run from their angry mother.

"I'm sorry about them. They're turning into a regular set of Weasley twins, I tell you. I swear I don't know how Charlie talked me into having Alastair! I would have sworn we were done after those two. I am turning forty soon," she apologized as she ran after them.

"My dad says that Charlie already hinted to him they are expecting another one. Just think, that'll be six, they might as well go for the whole seven!" whispered Victoire causing Teddy to grin.

"So Victoire, without two ears, I think I've been hearing things a bit wrong," said Uncle George coming out of the parlor and walking with the two as they headed into the burrows family room. "Would you mind clearing things up and explaining who this here is?"

"This is my fiancé, Edward, father of my unborn children, now be nice."

"Bloody hell," gasped George. "Now I owe Ron fifty galleons," he shook his head angrily and stalked upstairs.

"Who owes Ron fifty galleons?" asked Harry walking into the room. "Who are you?" he asked Teddy.

"Victoire's fiancé," smirked Teddy.

"Bloody hell," muttered Harry staring in astonishment at Teddy for a solid minute before digging in his pocket. "George, wait up, I owe Ron too!"

"Dinner!" called Grandmum Weasley suddenly, causing a stampede of red haired people from all directions toward the large, magically expanded kitchen.

To avoid confusion, regular seating at the Burrow Kitchen Table had been established years ago, with Molly and Arthur at the head, with Bill and Fleur to one side, Percy and Audrey across from them, Hermione next to Audrey, with Ron and then Harry and then Ginny beside them. George and Angelina sat next to Bill, and finally Alicia and Charlie next to them. After that came the children, filling in somewhat according to age. James had always been forced to sit near his mum to cancel out trouble, and Victoire had always sat next to her uncle Charlie. Teddy had always sat next to Victoire, first because he and James couldn't sit together and remain well behaved, and later because he had a bit of a crush on the girl. From there the seating continued by age, making room as friends and spouses and children were added to the family. Molly Weasley always seemed to know how many people were coming to dinners, and there was always enough room at the magically expanding table.

Out of habit, Teddy and Victoire went directly to their usual spots next to each other across from James and Elaine. As they sat down, Elaine gave them both a curious look which Teddy returned with a lust filled once over. "Excuse me, sir," she said slightly over the din of everyone getting settled. "That seat is already taken," she said gesturing to the one across from her.

"I don't see anyone," Teddy replied with another leer at Elaine whose face was reddening by the moment.

"That's Teddy Lupin's seat," she said getting a bit annoyed and repulsed by the man who thought he could just sit wherever he liked at the table.

"Then it's a good thing that's me, Ellie darling," retorted Teddy with a wry grin and a wink as Elaine's jaw dropped in surprise and James let out a snort of laughter. Victoire couldn't help but let out a giggle, which enraged her friend further.

"VICTOIRE!" she shrieked, getting redder in the face. However, her shriek caused everyone to shift their attention toward the middle of the table. Those who hadn't noticed Edward Knots before, certainly noticed him now, and the usually boisterous table fell silent. Elaine, noticing the scene she had caused, turned positively fuchsia, and clamped her mouth shut.

"Who's your friend, Victoire?" Hermione finally asked her niece. It was the question that everyone wanted to know the answer to, but no one was brave enough to ask. Count on Hermione Weasley.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet my wonderful fiancé, and the father of the twins," she said gesturing for Teddy to stand up. Teddy stood up, revealing he was a good head shorter than the tall beautiful blond, and hideous in comparison. From the children's side of the table, Hugo could be heard in a loud whisper saying that he had to have some goblin or house elf blood in him somewhere. Dominique was sputtering in shock, and Louis was looking to explode in a cross of Veela and Weasley Temper and attack his future brother in law.

Audrey could be heard gasping in surprise, and Molly Weasley looked utterly confused. Every single relative who hadn't already heard the news and gotten a good look at him was staring in horror. Suddenly, Ginny Potter burst out laughing.

"This isn't a joke Ginny! Victoire really is marrying this ugly mug, I mean look at that rock!" exclaimed Ron holding out his hand as if expecting something.

"RONALD!" reprimanded Hermione before turning to Ginny with a pleading look. "Really, Ginny, this isn't a laughing manner. You're being terribly rude. If ever there was a time I believed you were related to Ronald…" This last comment seemed to sober Ginny as she immediately stopped laughing and glared at her brother.

"Theodore Remus Lupin!" scolded Ginny in a voice she hadn't really had to use in several years. "_WHAT_ have I told you about making disgusting faces at the dinner table?" Her hands were on her hips and she was exuding her best Molly Weasley impression.

Teddy heaved a great sigh. "To not to," he said disappointedly before morphing into his usual shaggy brown hair, light blue eyed visage. "Sorry Auntie Ginny." He gave the adult end of the table a look best likened to an abused puppy before his entire face brightened. "I can call you that now that you'll officially be my aunt?" he said hopefully. "After all, with Vic and I married, I'll really be part of the family."

Looks of comprehension began to dawn around the table, and George was the first to laugh as he held out his hand to Ron. "Looks like we all owe Percy after all, and I want my money back."

Molly Weasley was crying, Percy looked like he had just won the lottery, Charlie was the first to offer congratulations, and Harry and Ginny were already halfway around the table to offer hugs. Dominique looked relieved, and Louis had cooled off rather quickly now that his future brother in law wasn't some hideous scruff who looked like a pedophile wife abuser.

Ron still looked confused. "That seriously wasn't a funny joke. I don't see why anyone is laughing."

"Ronald," sighed Hermione realizing she was going to have to explain things to her slightly dense husband.

By dessert, everyone had been informed of the wedding plans for the next month, and the adults had been given an explanation of why everything was so delayed. Teddy and Victoire had decided to have the wedding on the first Saturday in May, just two days after her Birthday and the anniversary of the final battle. Molly was already reserved to having lost her bet with Andromeda Tonks and in full wedding planning glory. Fleur was getting in on the excitement, and everyone was saying how they were so happy for them and had seen this coming for years.

Shortly after dinner, most of the adults had gone outside to watch George let off some fireworks, and Teddy sat on the love seat in the living room with his bride to be. "So, that was interesting," he said with a smile. "Of all the things I had envisioned, I don't think even I could have dreamt up that."

"Yes, who knew that my Uncle Percy would have bet you were the father?" replied Victoire.

"Well, I was thinking more along the lines of, I can't believe I didn't get hexed into next week by your uncles," replied Teddy matter-of-factly, causing them both to laugh.

**So... I have a lot of apologizing for this. I had major writers block for this chapter for ages... Literally started writing this chapter months ago and worked on it multiple times since. It just wasn't right... but I also just haven't updated in literally AGES! I had my reasons, but they don't really matter anymore because I have finally updated! I bet you all thought I abandoned you. Well.. I am not quite that evil. Anyways, I think everyone took the news rather well. The surprise of "edward knots" being horrible, but then being Teddy made things much more simplified. In my mind anyways, you can tell me what you think, please do! Anyways, only 2 more chapters I think, a wedding and an epilogue with babies babies babies! I'll add a very similar epilogue to Marauders Class of 2018 at the same time I think. Hope everyone's summer is going great, I know it's almost over. Been super busy for me, but I really wanted to get this up. PLEASE REVIEW! (as always) Ellie**


	25. Stately Springtime Shopping

**I know i've been gone for so long. There's this thing called School... unfortunately I'm enrolled in it. Please Review.**

As soon as the date of May 7th had been set, Victoire immediately regretted it. One month to plan a wedding simply wasn't enough. And besides planning the wedding, she and Teddy had about ten thousand other things to do. And at the top of the list was buying a house.

Which is what led them to the small office of Magical Manors in Wizarding London on the Wednesday afternoon following their engagement. "Well," said the attractive wizard with a bit too much oil in his hair and a smile a bit too wide. "What sort of house are you looking for today?"

"Well," said Victoire a bit unsure. "We'd prefer something with a magical background, hooked up to the floo, apparition points, in or near a wizarding community, and preferably without too much muggle influence, as both of us are entirely bewildered by anything of the sort."

"We'd like something with a back garden, maybe even a greenhouse," added Teddy. "A pond would be nice, and I'd really go for something with a Quidditch pitch and a broom shed."

"Speaking of kids, we already have two on the way, and so we would like something with plenty of room for kids, we aren't sure how many we want, but we want a good number," added Victoire rubbing her stomach. "We want something with a playroom, and at least six or seven bedrooms, and plenty of bathrooms, unlike my Grandma's."

"Yes, and I want my grandmother to have the eventual option of living with us, so a guest house or suit would be something to think about."

"I want a traditional dining room, a parlor, a large kitchen, and a drawing room," said Victoire thoughtfully.

"But we'd also like something a little less formal for family occasions, and a library and a study of course."

"With us having such a large family, a large ballroom wouldn't be entirely useless, especially at Christmas, and if you ever host a work party," added Victoire.

"I would prefer something with at least three floors, and a cellar," mused Teddy. "Of course not too big, but I think a bit grand. I can't have James always showing me up entirely with that monstrosity he inherited."

"Yes, maybe a bit like your Aunt's or James' house, but a bit smaller, maybe a smaller portrait gallery, the family isn't quite so, distinct," mused Victoire with a grin.

"Yes, that's the perfect description," exclaimed Teddy, looking excitedly to the estate broker. "We are interested in something similar to Malfoy Manner, just perhaps a bit, smaller, a bit more homey, but very classy."

Their estate broker burst out laughing, causing both of them to look a bit confused. Finally, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, he looked up at both of them. "Alright, now, down to business, what do you two want realistically?" he asked. They looked at each other in confusion. "Well," he said uncomfortably. "Maybe we can start at a price range and then talk about the number of bedrooms and mother in law suits we want, huh?"

Realization dawned on Victoire and she glared at the broker something fierce. "You don't pay much mind to the papers, do you?" she asked sweetly. The broker's turn to look confused occurred. "I'm sure though, that you've heard of the cure for lycanthropy has been found, I mean, unless you _do _really live under a rock?"

"Of course I have, it's only the single most important discovery of this century!" exclaimed the broker.

"My fiancé here, happens to be the one who made this astounding discovery." The broker gaped and adjusted his glasses. "I'm assuming, that you'll be able to find a house that meets everything we mentioned earlier."

"I… I… er- but you're so young!" blurted Thomas Pernelle.

"I think that my Godfather defeating Voldemort when he was barely a year old has proven that age has little to do with anything," said Teddy, casually using Harry's reputation to his advantage. The poor broker gaped yet again. "So, shall we plan on going to see a few houses this weekend?"

"Yes, I will have several lined up for your perusal," he answered reverently.

"Thank you," said Teddy in a business-like tone. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we both have to get back to work," he stood, holding out a hand to Victoire. "Miss Weasley, if you'll come with me." Once again, the broker's eyes widened.

* * *

"I dislike this one," stated Victoire after giving it one last critical look. "It makes me feel fat," she said.

"That's because you are fa-acing the mirror wrong," said Dominique, amending her statement as she received a glare from her mother.

"I dislike it. Next." Dominique rolled her eyes as Elaine handed Victoire the next dress in line.

"I don't know how there are actually this many different dresses in this little store," commented Dominique with a roll of her eyes. "She's had to have tried on about a hundred by now. And every single one of them has 'made her feel fat'. Do you think she's considered it might not be the dress? Maybe it's because she LOOKS fat!"

"I heard that Dominique Raquel Weasley!" came a furious voice from inside the dressing room. Victoire marched out, barely zipped into the current dress, a floor length empire waisted eggshell colored concoction made entirely of silk and delicate lace with silver threads giving the dress a shimmery life of its own that seemed its sole purpose to escalate the beauty of the wearer. "I'll have you know that when I find the right dress, I won't look fat. I'll simply look beautiful! I don't need you here whining about how many dresses I've tried on and making snide remarks about how disgusting I look in them. I already blood know! If you don't want to be here, you don't have to be in the wedding! You can go back to Hogwarts and sit sweating over a cauldron in the dungeons for the next few hours for all I care!" Dominique's mouth hung open as her sister ranted down at her, shaking a clawed hand at her.

"Wow," she said finally after Victoire had ended her rant. "Thank goodness you finally found it, because I WAS about ready to go back to Hogwarts. I guess we can start looking for my dress now?"

"What?" said Victoire confused. Turning to Elaine, her mum, grandma Molly, and Grandromeda, she saw all of them wearing similar expressions. Looking down at her current dress, she slowly stepped into view of the closest mirror before examining herself.

"Is this the one?" asked Fleur coming up behind her and putting her hands on her daughter's delicate shoulders.

"Yes," grinned Victoire with a smile. "I feel beautiful."

"You look it too," answered Dominique in quiet awe.

"Now to find a dress that makes you look half as good," said Victoire with a critical eye at her sister. "That might take a while considering what we have to work with," she said knowing her sister knew exactly how beautiful she was and wouldn't take the jibe to heart.

* * *

"So this is the first of three lovely estates I'd like to show you this afternoon," said Mr. Pernelle as the trio landed in a quiet park in upscale residential London. Above them dark trees twisted their branches casting shadows over an otherwise cheerful square. Across the street was an imposing four story dark red brick mansion with black iron bars separating it from the sidewalk and directing the eye toward the spindly pointed peaks of the black roof with many chimneys puffing out odd colored smoke. "It's four stories with an extensive cellar and underground network. It has fifteen bedrooms, ten bathrooms, a ballroom, a large kitchens, two dining rooms, a music room, drawing room, three parlors, two studies, a library, a large back garden that is muggle repellant and vision impaired, among many other features."

"Well," said Victoire with a small smile. "It certainly seems like it would be big enough for a Weasley family visit."

"Yes," said Teddy. "And this park is- convenient. Is it normally alright to just apparate in like this?"

"The park isn't used by muggles anymore," answered the realtor. "It's actually part of the estate and was used in the past for quidditch among other activities. The entire block used to be a wizarding community," he said gesturing to the mansions lining the square. "However, most are one of multiple homes that are not used year round or virtually at all by their owners. The white bricked one next door is the Malfoy Townhome. Two streets over is Grimmauld Place where your godfather lives."

"Oh, how nice! We'd be close to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny!" exclaimed Victoire as they walked up the sidewalk to the home. "I don't like that there is no front lawn though." Entering the house, they were greeted with black marble floor and a dark marble staircase leading to the second floor. Crimson draperies hung over the windows and walls, the golden tassels tying them in place matching the golden chandelier hanging from the high ceiling that cast a flickering glow through the shadowy entry.

The hair on the back of Teddy's neck went straight up and Victoire took a step closer to him. "How long has this house been on the market?"

"Twenty years or so, but it's dreadfully expensive," said the man leading them quickly through the foyer to another room not quite so gloomy as the first. Dark stained glass windows in reds and blues gave the next room, a large parlor a spooky feel, and the next room was just as violently sinister. By the time the realtor had led the couple to the deep cellars beneath the kitchen, they were giving each other wary looks.

"These are the cellars- not much to see down this way," said the realtor quickly after showing them the central wine cellar and storage areas.

"What goes off through-" broke off Victoire shining her wand down another passageway before gasping in horror and pulling away.

"By extensive underground network," said Teddy his voice rising slightly in anger and disgust, "Did you happen to mean dungeons and torture chambers?" Mr. Pernelle looked nervous. "Is this the Lestrange Family Home?" Teddy voiced the suspicion aloud and Mr. Pernelle looked defeated as he nodded. "We aren't interested in living in the home of my insane Aunt and Uncle who managed to kill my parents."

"Alright then, perhaps the next house might be more suited to your tastes?"

* * *

"What a disaster!" exclaimed Victoire as they flooed into the cheery parlor. "I guess most of the houses would be those of families that were on the losing side of the war."

"Yes, but seriously, the Gaunt house?" asked Teddy. "No wonder no one has wanted to move there for the past sixty years when Riddle killed the people who had bought it from his grandfather when he went broke and had to sell the place off and used it as headquarters in the first war. Really!"

"I wonder if there are any houses that fit our wishes that aren't tainted," sighed Victoire.

"You're house hunting?" broke in Andromeda as she entered the parlor with a tea tray levitating in front of her.

"Well, we thought we would start looking for a place to move into after the wedding. With the babies due to arrive in August, we want to be settled in somewhere. With the money from the business pouring in, we thought we would get something expensive, a grand family home that could be passed down. Like Aunt Cissy and Uncle Lou's place."

"Well, I wish you would have told me," answered Andromeda. She lofted her wand and with a swishing motion summoned a white envelope from somewhere upstairs. "I've been meaning to give this to you as your wedding present, but I suppose it would be best to give it now."

"What is it?" asked Teddy opening the envelope to find a large skeleton key and a packet of papers tied with a black ribbon.

"It's the documents and key to the Black family Estate that I inherited when my older sister died. Blackheath, it's just outside of Godric's Hallow, a bit more into the countryside than the Potter place. Walking distance mind you, I remember going over to the Potter's to visit for tea once or twice."

"Cissy and I went back, just once mind you. It was like we were transported to back before the first war, before I married Ted, before Bella became someone neither of us recognized, before we grew up. When the worst thing about our lives were the annual visits from the Parkinson family and Uncle Lou's family. Cissa quite despised him when we were younger. Oh how opinions can change," laughed Andromeda as she walked toward the fireplace and grabbed a bit of floo powder.

"Well, I'll see you there," she said before stepping into the fire and stating, "Blackheath!"

Looking from the contents of the envelope to the fading green flames in the fire and then to each other, Teddy and Victoire rose slowly. Pocketing the key, Teddy picked up the floo powder and offered some to his fiancé with a grin. Teddy followed Victoire, barely allowing the green flames to die down before throwing his own handful of floo powder into the fire.

Landing in a large white marble fireplace that he could step out of without bending over, Teddy saw his fiancé and grandmother standing in the middle of a large receiving room. The room looked like it belonged in a palace, the white marble floors glistening, the high white ceiling decorated with swirling designs while the blue walls were covered in a pretty blue paper with gold filigree etchings. The large mirror on one wall made the room seem larger and brighter while the tall windows along another wall gave a picturesque view of immaculate grounds with splashes of pretty colored flowers on a pristine green lawn.

The furnishings were sparse, but all light airy French pieces with a welcoming feel, and on the wall in front of him was a large moving painting. Three girls, two darker and one with golden blond locks were sitting at an elegant tea table wearing poufy dresses perhaps a bit too formal with accessories that looked to be their mother's. Their hair was in bouncy ringlet curls underneath overlarge floppy hats that seemed out of place with their princess dresses. They were eating delicate slices of juicy looking golden pineapple, sipping tea with primness, eating chocolate scones and laughing among themselves. They gave the overly ostentatious room something intangibly welcoming.

"Wow," was all Teddy could say.

"Come, come, this room is nothing, you should see the ballroom! Besides, I'm sure you want to see the conservatory! I know you'll love having a year round garden, Victoire, I wonder if the roses are in bloom."

The two lovers looked at each other with smiles, this already felt like home, the perfect combination of elegance and home. He looked up to see the middle girl at the tea party looking at them unabashedly as pineapple juice dripped down her chin. Teddy gave a small smile and her face transformed into the sweetest smile that he couldn't help but recognize with a slight startle. Gran.

The house was perfect, the slightly French feel of the home continuing throughout the tour of the ballroom, library, conservatory, kitchens, both dining rooms, all four parlors, the music room, the drawing room, the study, the twenty or so bedrooms, so much more, and the outbuildings.

"This is just what we were looking for Gran," said Teddy with a smile. "It's perfect, we can't wait to move in and start our new life together."

"Perfect, because it's yours, Narcissa and I talked about it, and you deserve it. Besides, there are plenty more properties for her son and grandchildren. She _is_ a Malfoy. It's so very French, yet English, just like you two. Feel free to make as many changes as you like. It's a place for a family, and that's what you are," she said with a smile. "I love the both of you, and I'm so happy that you're finally together. I've been waiting for this for years you know!" She gave them both slightly too tight hugs that even Molly Weasley wouldn't have been able to outdo. "Now I'll just have to find something else to give you for the wedding!"

"Oh no, Grandromeda, you don't have to do that! This is more than enough," exclaimed Victoire.

"I've got just the thing," she replied mysteriously. "Anyways, I'll let you guys continue with your look around, I've got to be going, my sister is coming over for tea, and I think I'll stop by the market for some fresh pineapple."

* * *

Since they were getting married at Shell Cottage, on the grassy cliff overlooking the ocean, it was logical that they have the rehearsal dinner at Andromeda's house, with a rehearsal ceremony in the back garden that was once the site of their many childhood adventures.

As Victoire followed the parade of Andi, ShiShi, Sarah, Rose, Lily, Dominique, and Elaine, Teddy couldn't help but stare. She looked so beautiful in the casual spring dress she had chosen to wear, a sea greenish blue color similar to what her bridesmaids would be wearing the following day. She was carrying a bouquet of pinwheels courtesy of James who was currently whispering into his ear.

"I feel like this is all a little ridiculous, didn't you guys get married like fifteen years ago? Yes, I do remember Toire with those pinwheels walking toward this same tree where if I recall correctly, Albus Dumbledore married you while I served as best man and Dominique maid of honor. We even had wedding cake."

"We were seven, and for the record it was Albus Potter wearing your father's Hogwarts robes, not Albus Dumbledore, and the wedding cake was a mud pie decorated with seashells and roses filched from your Auntie Fleur's Garden, and we couldn't even get Hugo to try it," retorted Teddy, still astonished that this woman was going to be marrying him the next day.

Later that night as they ate dinner, Teddy and the guys were giving poor Murphy a hard time about his love life. His groomsmen were James, Albus, his cousin Scorpius, Louis, Murphy, Orion, and Frank. The women were on the other side of the yard, sitting on the porch sipping tea, murmuring among themselves. The men were sneaking quaffs of firewhiskey out of flasks.

"Whatever happened to that girl in the department of mysteries?" asked Frank.

"I'm not sure what went wrong. It's a bit of a mystery," mumbled Murphy into his food.

"Well with Orion here married to the muggle of his life, we can assume you're the only marauder left on the market," laughed James, finally having forgiven his friend for marrying behind his back. He was planning to meet with Orion's wife Lia soon. As soon as he brushed up on his muggle studies.

Teddy looked up to see Victoire crossing the yard, her beauty like a beacon of light around her. She smiled at him as she neared him. "Might I steal my fiancé for a minute, gentlemen?" There was a chorus of assent as Teddy allowed himself to be pulled across the yard, toward the willow tree and their swing which she promptly sat down on.

"Nervous for tomorrow?" she asked candidly.

"Me, nervous, never," he said with a wink.

"Hmmm… I always knew that Gryffindor courage would come out sometime," she joked.

"Just took a little longer than usual," he said, knowing they were referring to his inability to tell her he was madly in love with her for the majority of their lives.

"I'm not one to talk, but just so you know, I love you Theodore Lupin," she said pulling him down to her level for a short kiss.

"I love you Victoire Weasley," he replied with a smile. He would never admit to her, how much he needed this little reassurance the night before he stood and professed his love to her. The fear of rejection was still quite strong.

"Not for long," she said earning an alarmed look. "I'll be Victoire Lupin to you."

He smiled, "Mrs. Lupin, I quite like the sound of that. I might stop calling you anything else, Vic."

"Hmm…" she said as if considering it before smiling. "I might like that."

"Well, it's getting pretty late, do you have to get going, beauty rest and all that?"

"Yes, I just wanted to say goodbye since I won't see you until tomorrow at the ceremony." Teddy's face feel even though he had known this was coming.

"I'll look for you," he said with a smirk.

"I'll be the one in white," she shot back with a smile before turning on the spot and apparating before he could snag a final kiss. He ran a hand through his hair before smiling at her antics. Merlin he was nervous…

**Hope you liked it. It's been so long, I can't really decide if it's up to par or not. But school's out and I hope to finish up my fanfics this summer. I'm utterly bored and wishing my love life would speed itself up... :( Slash that I could get a good job. Anywho... Please REVIEW! Thanks for reading. One or two more chapters and this baby is done. Ellie**


	26. Today is the Big Day

_This day I will marry my friend,_

_ the one I laugh with,_

_ live for, dream with, love. _

_Each hour, each day, each year_

_ We grow as two, yet as one, _

_We grow apart, yet together _

_Forming an eternal love _

_We, Victoire Weasley and Theodore Lupin_

_together with our families_

_ invite you to share in the celebration _

_of our marriage on Saturday,_

_ the seventh of May two thousand nineteen_

_at four o'clock in the afternoon _

_Shell Cottage._

Victoire was surprisingly serene despite Dominique's expectation that she would flake out. Dominique, the maid of honor, who Victoire had decided was most fitting as she was her only sister was fiddling with the goblin made tiara that all Weasley Brides wore- as long as Great Auntie Muriel approved which she always did. ShiShi, Sarah, Andi, Tanya, Patrice, Elaine, Rose, and Lily were her other eight bridesmaids to make a total of nine, which according to Aunt Luna, the divination expert, nine was an ideal number. James was best man, while Orion, Murphy, Albus, Louis, Hugo, Frank, David, and Teddy's cousin Scorpius were the groomsmen.

Victoire's bright childhood room was crowded with the bridesmaids, Grandromeda, Fleur, and Molly Weasley. She was seated at her vanity table while Dom did some last minute charms on her hair to make the loosely curled strands keep their tamed appearance without looking too stiff. Elaine was just finishing zipping the last of the girls into their seafoam dresses. The pale greenish blue dresses were strapless empire waisted with asymmetrical gathering that flattered everyone, even the visibly pregnant Elaine. However good everyone else looked was pale in comparison to Victoire though. In her full part veela glory, she was practically glowing with happiness, and the small curve of her stomach only enhanced that beauty. Her delicate features were serene and her bright blue eyes were brighter than the clear blue sky outside. A knock at the door caused her to look up from her musings at the beautiful locket that was the sole piece of jewelry she wore besides the tiara and her engagement ring. The white gold locket had a wolf on the front howling a the full moon and she had been reminiscing about the night she had first put it around her neck.

"Everyone's here and the ceremony is set to start in five minutes," came Bill Weasley's voice as he popped his head into the room. "Dad told me to start sending the girls down to get lined up before the Ushers stir up some trouble or the Minister realizes that we violated fire code."

"Percy is escorting me with Charlie on the other side, hopefully I can distract both of them from lectures and trouble respectively," laughed Fleur.

"And George and Arthur will be escorting me, which you know Arthur can keep George in line," said Molly as everyone raised their eyebrows at the thought of George being kept in line by his parents. There was no doubt Molly could have done it alone.

"And I'm here for you Andromeda," said Harry Potter with a smile at the woman who had helped him raise the groom.

"With me, your favorite nephew," came a sarcastic drawl from the hallway.

"But Draco, you're my only nephew, thank goodness Bella never procreated," said Andromeda taking both men by the arms so she could be led in as the grandmother of the groom and seated last before the wedding party came in. After Fleur, Grandromeda , and Grandma Molly left, the girls filed out to meet their respective escorts at the bottom of the stairs so they could walk out to the silver tent directly out the back door which allowed the wedding party to make a grand entrance through a beautiful stone arch that had been put in place for the wedding.

This left Victoire and Bill alone in her room. "You know, it's not too late," said Bill off handedly as he peeked through the curtain to see his mum and his wife being seated. "There's nothing wrong with not getting married, being a single mum," he said.

"I love Teddy, and I have for as long as I remember. We aren't getting married for the babies," said Victoire, somewhat surprised that she was having this conversation on today of all days.

"I just had to make sure, I hope he makes you happy, but if he ever hurts you…or the babies… I can't be held responsible for my actions," said Bill with a rueful smile. "I love you little girl, and it's just, insane, that you're getting married and going to be a mum yourself. It seems like just yesterday this wedding was a big game of eight year olds imaginations."

"I love you too daddy, and no matter what happens, nothing will change that," said Victoire realizing her dad was close to tears as she gave him a tight hug, not caring if she smushed her hair or dress.

"Shall we go? I heard there's this important event, and it can't start till I get there," asked Bill with a laugh.

"Sure daddy," said Victoire taking his arm and giving him a kiss on his cheek as they headed downstairs and to the tent. "I'm ready," she said as they reached the entrance of the tent. She smiled at him as she lofted her bouquet of white roses and pale blue forget-me-nots. With a wave of his wand, the tent flaps pulled back to give the view of the cliff overlooking the sea that was the backyard of shell cottage. Light wood chairs with silver cushions were lined up perfectly on either side of a long aisle of grass strewn with pale blue forget-me-nots leading to a slightly raised platform under a a silver arc, the backdrop of which was the glistening sea and a perfect blue sky. The slight chill to the breeze coming off the sea was off set by the warmth of the bright sunshine which reflected beautifully off everything, magnifying the beauty of the scene. A line of nine bridesmaids wearing short seafoam dresses and carrying pale blue flowers looked elegant, their dresses flowing gently in the breeze while the men's dark blue robes didn't contrast too sharply as black might have. However, Victoire only had eyes for the flashing spot of color at the end of the aisle.

A bright smile lit up her features as she approached Teddy Lupin, and many guests would claim for years that she was the most beautiful, radiant bride they had ever seen while others would simply compare her to her mother. In any case, pure joy was evident on her face and spread through the crowd as the stringed quartet played an elegant bridal march.

Reaching the end of the aisle and the man with the multicolored flashing hair, the proper words were said to pass off the bride, but there was a pause. "Daddy, you can let go now," came the soft whisper heard only by those toward the front as she gave her arm a slight tug.

"I'll take good care of her Bill," said Teddy with an anxious smile. "I promise."

In an exchange that Bill would forever deny, a look of pure horror and near tears overcame his face before he glared his most fearsome at the interloper on his daughter's affections causing the priest to take a step back. "You better, and your hair looks ridiculous Lupin." He kissed his daughter on the cheek and retreated to his wife where he tried to hide his tears through the rest of the ceremony.

Teddy's hair turned as red as his face before he got his morphing under control and his hair returned to its normal light brown. The rest of the ceremony passed quickly yet perfectly for the couple as they professed their love and fidelity to each other before their friends, family, and God. It would be forever contestable who cried more, Molly Weasley, Andromeda Tonks, or Bill Weasley. Finally, after many years of loving each other, the priest announced that Teddy could kiss his bride, upon which his hair promptly turned bright pink causing laughter amid the applause.

Pulling away, breaking their kiss short, Teddy looked into the bright blue happy eyes of his wife… his _wife._ "My hair's pink isn't it?" She nodded with a watery laugh. "Well this is embarrassing…." He said with a shrug before swooping her into a deep kiss that had so much passion in it that the crowd forgot their laughter at the display of love in front of them. This time it was Victoire who emerged pink and embarrassed from their kiss.

"May I present for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Lupin," announced the priest as the music started up an Teddy and Victoire led the procession of the wedding party down to the beach where they would take pictures while the backyard was transformed into a reception hall with silver tents, food, and a dancefloor which would be star lit by the end of the night. The bride and groom weren't half way down the aisle when bright gold, silver, blue, and green fire exploded loudly in the air around the wedding causing an outburst of "GEORGE!" from multiple mouths.

"WHAT!" he cried quite innocently.

"Don't worry everyone!" yelled James from the end of the aisle as he followed Teddy and Victoire, somehow rearranging the wedding party to be paired with his own wife. "It was Orion and me. We take full credit!"

Luckily he escaped before Ginny Potter could reach him.

* * *

The reception was a hit, with several lovely speeches, a few pranks, and much laughter and joy. It went well into the evening as the alcohol was flowing freely along with copious amounts of food and dessert. Family friend Lee Jordan was the DJ and everyone danced, packing the dance floor. It was particular full around ten thirty when a rousing rendition of Celestina Warback played and Fleur Weasley forced her husband to dance, which ended up being quite hilarious as she may or may not have orchestrated the collapse of the DJ stand halfway through the song (much to Molly Weasley's displeasure) when she and her husband completed a particularly athletic dance move and she flew into the turntables. Luckily nothing was damaged except for that particular record which luckily did not come from Andromeda Tonks' autographed collection.

After that episode, a laughing Teddy and Victoire who both knew the "accident" was no accident came off the floor laughing. "I can't dance anymore right now, my feet hurt too badly," said Victoire sitting down. "Bring me cake, slave, I mean husband."

"Yes mistress, I mean wifey," laughed Teddy summoning a piece of cake and preparing to finger feed her before she rolled her eyes and snatched away the plate. Looking around, both noticed the party was slowing down a little as some of the younger cousins and guests had been sent home and Victoire idly wondered if they should leave for their honeymoon, their gift from Andromeda, soon. She looked at Teddy to see him staring at her with a silly smile on his face.

"What are you smiling for, love?" she asked kissing his cheek which did nothing to remove the goofy grin.

"I just can't believe you're finally my wife, Mrs. Lupin."

"Mhm… I guess. You might have to convince me I made the right decision to marry you. Edward Knots made quite the offer for my hand. I quite liked the sound of Victoire Knots," she said. When Teddy didn't even respond to her jibe, she looked up to see he was still acting odd. "Do you like the dress?" she asked self consciously after having had him stare at her for so long. She looked over her shoulder at the dark starlit sky and the crashing moonlit ocean that served as a backdrop to the reception.

"It's lovely, but not nearly as lovely as the girl wearing it," said Teddy taking her hand. "I feel like I've barely seen you all wedding, but this is nice, just us. Before we're interrupted, I just wanted to tell you I love you, Vic. You have officially made me the happiest man on earth."

"I love you too, Ted. And, you know… I'm pretty happy too," she said the last part with a smirk.

"Only pretty happy?" he said outraged. "Well, considering we have the rest of our lives together and we're leaving for our honeymoon, three weeks of just you and me on the beautiful sandy beaches on my Aunt Cissa's private island, in approximately…." He looked at his watch. "Now, I guess I'll have plenty of time to convince you that you're the luckiest, happiest woman in the world."

"Time to say goodbye already?" laughed Victoire at his impatience to leave and be alone from the well wishing, but mildly annoying interrupting guests that had been plaguing them all evening. "I'm not opposed, let's say goodbye shall we, she said getting to her feet and pulling him toward her father and uncles who all six sitting a table littered with many many empty glasses in addition to several fulls for each of them. She smiled seeing the red heads together with her lone dark haired uncle, each of whom held a special place in her heart. However, the most special of them was currently engaged in quite the conversation.

"I was NOT crying. I did NOT CRY!" her father was protesting loudly as George, Ron, and Charlie laughed outright while her other two uncles tried to hide their snickers of doubt in their glasses of firewiskey.

"Sure… keep telling yourself that Bill," said Ron.

"There was sand in my eye! That's what I get for having an outdoor beach wedding on a breezy day!" Even Harry and Percy couldn't keep it in any longer, an uncharacteristically undignified Minister Percy spraying whiskey in Charlie's face as Bill denied his tears.

"I hate depending on one ear to hear everything," whined George as the laughter subsided a bit and Bill pouted angrily. "But your defense seems so bloody one sided!"

The laughter started up again as Bill sputtered angrily. "Let's see how well you hold up at Rose's wedding to the little Malfoy, or Roxy's, or Lily's, or Molly's, or Annika's to some… USURPER!" This shut the uncles up pretty quickly, particularly since Ron spotted Rose dancing with Scorpius Malfoy. This allowed Victoire to enter into the group to say goodbye, and within minutes she had made rounds with Teddy to say goodbye to everyone personally. She just hoped her dad didn't get too much teasing for crying again when she left. And there was no denying he sobbed and clung to her directly before her departure.

Just before the portkey pulled them away to their honeymoon destination, Victoire took one last look around and smiled. It truely was her idea of the perfect wedding. "Ready to go Vic?" asked Teddy her perfect groom. She smiled... Her very own Theodore Lupin, Edward Knots, Freddie Girard, whoever he claimed to be...

"Call me Mrs. Lupin."

**I feel TERRIBLE it took so long to write this... but I just had a total block for what I pictured for some of their wedding, and it was hard to make it long enough and detailed enough to do it justice. Last chapter will be birth of the twins and a mini epilog type thing. I don't know when it will be done. But if the response to this chapter is good... I hope to write it soon. I'm marking this story as complete... but I will write an epilog so you can know what I named the twins and James' and Elaine's baby. Please Review... even if it's just to tell me how much u hate me for not updating sooner... Cause yeah... I wanted to finish this earlier... but I just had such a block. I hope you liked it!**

**Elaine**


	27. Forever to Treasure

**Took forever, I know, but obviously my procrastination for studying for finals has paid off. I've been working on this story for years... literally and I can only thank those that motivated me to keep writing and UPDATE! with their reviews. I really appreiciated it. It meant a lot! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you could review... I really would love to hear from you one last time (or maybe a first). Also tell me what you think of the names. I originally had named them something else you can read in the authors note at the end. Let me know if I made the right decision on their names.**

Arriving at St. Mungo's, Teddy was in an obvious panic. After supporting Victoire on her way via floo, he rushed to the front desk.

"My wife's in labor!" he said excitedly, his hair flashing yellow and red.

"One moment please, and fill out this admission form," said a dull voiced receptionist who Victoire knew was notorious for letting people wait. She didn't even look up from her nails.

"Marcella?" she snapped, the receptionist's head snapping to attention at the sound of a healer's voice.

"Healer Weasley, I mean Lupin, I mean! MERLIN!" the young woman said, eyes bugging out.

"Please have Healer Nelson alerted to my presence. I'm sure she just got back from seeing her children off to the station, but let her know I'm having mine, and I'll be in the private ward reserved for the Weasley, Potter, and Lupin families. My grandmother in law will be here soon, along with my grandmother, and my parents, and a good many other famous people. Tell them to wait in our private waiting room that my uncle pays for my family to keep. My uncle Harry that is. Harry Potter. I'm sure these little ones will be out very soon," she ordered calmly. Being a healer gave quite the advantage and authority in situations like this. Marcella just gaped as the very large bellied part veela and her obviously distraught husband headed to the private room that was constantly kept ready for any Potter, Lupin, or Weasley injured. One of the advantages of being an incredibly rich, incredibly large, incredibly famous family.

"Victoire," said healer Nelson, entering the room with a big smile. "I was expecting you any day!" Victoire visibly relaxed, seeing the woman who had overseen her healer training there to help her through this. Not only was she an excellent healer, but a friend and mentor. Teddy wasn't exactly helping with his nervous panicky attitude.

"What can I do!" he asked excitedly, his hair going from orange to neon green.

"You can sit right here and hold your wife's hand through it all. I'm just going to take a quick look to see how things are progressing," said Healer Nelson taking on a business-like tone.

"I… Vic… I… You know I can't lose you!" burst out Teddy. Victoire looked at her husband with a startled expression. "I mean, we've only finally gotten together, and I just… I love you so much, and I always have. I don't know what I would do without you!"

"I'm not going anywhere," said an exasperated Victoire matter of factly. "I'm not going to die, everything is going to be just fine. Don't… don't worry… and I love you too, of course."

"And Mr. Lupin, just so you know, your wife is healthy, in her prime, and has very few risk factors for a difficult birth besides the fact she's having two babies at once. Let me assure you, that I know what I am doing, and if need be can surgically remove the children to ensure their health or that of their mother at no harm to either of them. My team and I are very good at what we do."

"My husband read chapter thirteen of _What to Expect When your Witch is Expecting_," explained Victoire with a giant sigh. "He just finished it two nights ago and hasn't slept since."

"Oh… well that does explain things. That chapter's a bit doom and gloom and could cause anyone worry," said Healer Nelson with an understanding look.

"I…" Victoire broke off what she was going to say as a contraction hit. She tightened her grip on Teddy's hand and when his eyes took on a panicked look, she tried to give him a pained smile.

"Are you going to be taking anything for the pain?" he asked quickly.

"I migh…." Victoire started breaking off as yet another contraction hit. Healer Nelson raised her eyebrows and moved to the foot of the bed.

"I think that once they decided on today, they decided they didn't want to wait. You would think they were late for the Express!" she exclaimed. "You're nearly fully effaced and dilated! How far apart have you let your contractions get!"

"I… I hate waiting!" said Victoire mournfully. "I didn't want to come in too early…and at first I wasn't SURE! if the twinges were just twinges…. Or… MERLIN… and then I was… and they got really… FAST…."

"VIC!" wailed Teddy, his face nearly ghost white while his hair was a sickly yellow green. Meanwhile, Nelson had summoned everything she needed and was gently coaxing Victoire to just breathe and let Teddy hold her hand.

"TELL ME NICE THINGS!" exclaimed Victoire, her veela claws manifesting themselves and digging into Teddy's hand drawing blood.

"Remember when we were little, and we went to that fair in Ottery St. Catchpole with Grandpa Arthur? We rode the big wheel, and Grandpa Arthur levitated you down when you got scared when we stopped right at the top. He had to modify like thirty memories!"

"Yes," she whispered. "I was so scared."

"But it was really pretty up there too, and you cried when you couldn't see the pretty fields anymore. You talked Uncle George into brining you back the next day so you could ride the wheel again."

"That time I wasn't afraid," agreed Victoire.

"That's why you were such a good Gryffindor. Merlin, I suck at this, I'm scared as hell and can only think of scary stories!"

"No, no! It was perfect!" laughed Victoire between contractions. "ANNOTHER!" she yelped as an especially painful one hit her.

"Push Victoire, I can see your oldest child's head!"

Teddy seemed to turn a little green, but Victoire took on a determined face and did as she was asked, letting out her first real scream as she did so.

"Here he is!" announced Healer Nelson over the scream of the newly arrived baby, quickly severing the cord and wrapping a blanket around him. The nurse she passed the squirming, crying boy to took the baby to an astonished looking Teddy with a small wave of her wand to prevent the shell shocked looking husband from being able to drop the squirming newborn.

"Lift him up you lump! I can't SEE!" exclaimed Victoire, desperate to see her newborn despite the fact she was still experiencing rapid contractions. Teddy lifted the squalling newborn carefully supporting the fragile neck with his hand and smiled at the boy as Victoire reached out and cupped her delicate white hand to his small red, still mildly bloody face. Looking at Victoire, he could see she was crying and had a huge smile on her face as the boy stopped crying, seemingly content to have his mother's soothing touch.

"He's so beautiful!" she whispered, brushing back some of the thick bloody hair on her son's head.

"Are you ready to push again, Victoire?" asked Healer Nelson again from the head of the bed. "I think his sibling is ready to reunite with their brother!"

"Here, I'll clean this one up right here so Mr. Lupin can hold your hand," interjected the nurse, stepping in to take away the boy. At the distraught look on Victoire's face, she added, "I'll bring him right back, and we won't even be leaving the room."

"Yes," she said, allowing Teddy to hand off the delicate bundle and take her hand again. This time she seemed to think it was a little easier. Within just a few minutes, there was another cry from the foot of the bed that signified the arrival of the second twin.

"It's a girl!" exclaimed Healer Nelson, once again cutting the cord, and this time taking the extra wand movements to clean the baby off before swaddling her in a pink blanket. Carrying her around the bed, she gently placed the girl in Victoire's waiting arms as the nurse handed their son back to Teddy, who was still looking utterly shocked.

"They're perfect," whispered Victoire with a tearful smile.

"I love them so much," replied Teddy, laughing as his son wrapped his small five fingered hand around his one finger. "I love you," he said leaning over to kiss his wife, carefully cradling his precious son as he did so.

"I love you too," replied Victoire. "Now let me hold my son, and meet your daughter!"

"Merlin's Beard!" exclaimed Teddy, looking closely at his daughter for the first time as she had been handed directly to his wife. "She looks exactly like you! Are you sure that there's any of me in here?" he laughed.

"Really Teddy, this one looks a lot like you. Definitely your nose, and your chin, and your light brown hair color."

"I guess, but she's so… blonde," he said running a gentle finger over her blond scalp, causing the infant who had fallen directly asleep in her mothers arms, obviously tired from the labor to open her eyes. "HER EYES! They're Blue!" he laughed, obviously pleased.

"All babies have blue eyes," sighed Victoire, smiling down at her son who also had his blue eyes open.

"Vic, she's so perfectly you! I just can't get over it!" Teddy stated again, laughing as his little blue eyed daughter yawned and stuck her little pink tongue out.

"I wonder if my mom will think so," replied Victoire with a smile, finally looking over at Teddy to see his hair was a bright blue color, she guessed the color of her daughter's eyes.

"Teddy!" she laughed, causing him to look up, entirely unaware his hair had morphed.

"I'm not done with her! You can't have her back yet!" he replied with a pout.

"I… I wasn't going to… but their names?" she said, biting back a laugh at the idea he wanted more time to meet his daughter.

"Ohhh…. I think…. Well I guess I had better ask you which you think suits her…." said Teddy, obviously holding back his opinion.

"I'm pretty sure we're thinking the same thing," said Victoire, knowing that of the two girls names they had decided on to choose from, one fit the tiny bundle seemingly perfectly. "She's a bright little star."

"I love you Lyra Andromeda Lupin," cooed Teddy, kissing his daughters forehead. Pulling back his eyes widened, and Victoire burst out into laughter.

"It looks like she takes after you after all!" And sure enough the bright veela blond had turned to the same blue color her father was sporting, the newborns eyes obviously developed enough to see the color.

"So… Arthur then?" asked Teddy, looking at her small bundle.

"It…. I guess it suits him… but…" Suddenly, not to be outdone, Arthur's hair was a bright blue to match his sister's.

"Well that sly little lynx, he's a metamorphmagus too!" laughed Teddy, turning his hair pink and laughing as both his children imitated it.

"I love it! And if you recall from Astronomy, it's also a constellation. It suits him perfectly!" exclaimed Victoire with glee.

"Lynx Arthur Lupin?" asked Teddy with a grin. "I love it! What do you think little man?" Lynx responded by nuzzling his mother and turning his hair to his natural brown.

"Let's see if anyone else is here yet?" suggested Teddy after a moment of watching Vic's eyes start to droop. "Then after everyone sees us, you can get some rest before you have to feed these two."

"Oh my Merlin!" exclaimed Andromeda, gently pulling the blanket away from the small face to get a better look at the little girl. "She's so beautiful, and she looks just like you Victoire."

"Yes, and this one looks just like Teddy," laughed an elated Fleur who was rocking a slightly fussy Lynx with Bill looking over her shoulder.

"What did you name them?" came Molly Weasley's excited voice from the doorway. She immediately went over to see her great granddaughter. "Oh, Fleur, she looks just like Vic and Dom did."

"Just wait to see how much she takes after Ted," laughed Victoire from her spot on the bed. "Show them Ted!"

"I'll take Lyra Andromeda, Gran," said Teddy, lifting the bundle from his grandmother's arms as her eyes widened. He turned his hair pink and grinned as the soft down of hair on his daughters head flashed the same vibrant color to match.

"Oooh!" exclaimed the grandparents in the room.

"After me?" asked a tearful Andromeda.

"We thought we would follow in the Black family tradition of a star or flower name, and we wanted to give them middle names after people we love and respect. Mum, you're holding Lynx Arthur," said Victoire watching as Teddy passed their daughter to her great grandmother Molly.

"This one's an Arthur?" asked Vic's grandfather with a grin.

"Yup, after his great grandfather and grandfather," said Teddy, looking at Bill, whose middle name was after his father. "He can morph too, but he was pretty sneaky about it. He had his eyes opened for ages and didn't morph until we had discovered his sister's abilities."

"They're absolutely beautiful," said Fleur with a satisfied smile on her face. "I always knew you two would make beautiful babies!"

"Merlin have mercy on me! She's already planning for more!" exclaimed Victoire looking a bit afraid.

"Not for a while!" protested Fleur, passing Lynx to his namesake. "But how could you not want more of these precious little treasures!"

"MOVE IT! AUNTIE HERE!" exclaimed Dominique, storming into the room, only to be overcome with excitement upon seeing the babies. "Oh Vic!"

Hours later, the room had long been cleared of the friends and family who had come to see the twins. Victoire had taken a nap while Teddy watched over his small family. The twins had slept quite a bit, but both had nursed. Teddy had moved to sit on the hospital bed next to Victoire and was content to watch her sleep as he relaxed.

"How are you feeling?" Teddy asked as he noticed Victoire stirring.

"Tired, but so happy. How about you?"

"It didn't really sink in until I had them in my arms. They're so much tinier than I expected!"

"Did you honestly expect them to come out fully grown?" laughed Victoire quietly, causing Teddy to flush red.

"For your sake I'm glad they didn't, I imagine that would have been rather painful," he retorted, causing her to squirm uncomfortably at the thought though she laughed anyways.

"Before you know it, they'll be off to Hogwarts!" she said, suddenly breaking off her laughter.

"All the more reason to treasure them like this when they're small," said Teddy with a smile, leaning in to kiss his wife. "I love you Victoire Lupin, and I thank Merlin that somehow everything sorted out and we're together now, because you make me happier than any wizard has a right to be. My heart is always and forever yours."

"I happen to love you too," laughed Victoire, post partum tears threatening behind her eyes as she kissed her one love and husband, her best friend since childhood, and the father of her children. The two, were enjoying a quiet moment together, simply holding one another and relishing in the joy the day had brought when a cry broke out. Teddy sighed and looked at Victoire as if asking what to do.

"Weren't you saying something about treasuring them?" she answered with a smirk. After all, she was still confined to her bed. "Go see what she wants."

"I… What if she need changed?" he said with wide eyes.

"Then I'll forever treasure the memory of you changing your first nappy," she laughed.

**So I really hope you liked it. Please review! And keep an eye out for updates on my other stories. More Lynx, Lyra, Teddy and Vic in my story Mr. and Mrs. Black! Also, Elaine and James' baby will be born soon! Any name suggestions would be appreciated, especially if you hated the names I had for Lynx and Lyra whose original names were Gryffin and Gabrielle, or Gryff and Gabi for short. But Vic never particularly loved Tante Gabrielle, so... and I liked these much better. So sad it's over, but so happy to finally finish. Conflicting emotions! Post Partum Author Syndrome! AHHH! Anyways, **

**Elaine**


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